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Going Out Green

The green movement is transforming the dating scene in the Bay Area, as eco-consciousness emerges as important new criteria in the search for Mr. or Ms. Right, or at least the flavor of the week. A hot new trend is surfacing in San Francisco, or more precisely, a cool new trend. It all began with an e-mail from a friend in March: “Hey, we’ve got the concert tickets and we’ve purchased the carbon offsets from Be Green.” Say hello to carbon neutral dating.
For the curious or confounded, a carbon offset is a simple and inexpensive way to help finance pro-environment projects that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Solar panels, wind farms, and avoided deforestation are all common ways to keep that pesky carbon dioxide out of the air. In short, we still have to use some unclean energy, but we can offset that use by funding some clean energy. Excellent sources of carbon offsets include TerraPass, ClimateSmart, Be Green, Climate Clean, and 3Degrees. TerraPass even offers carbon neutral certificates for weddings — but let’s not get aheadof ourselves.

Sustainable Sustenance
Sharing food is a cornerstone of courtship. The plethora of restaurants serving organic cuisine, sustainable seafood, and grass-fed beef nowadays makes this aspect of going out green a slam-dunk.
Ordering with non-overbearing know-how can light up a prospect’s eyes brighter than the East Bay fires. “My date couldn’t decide which fish to order, so I pulled out the Seafood Watch card from my wallet. She was so impressed, I think she would have gone home with me on the spot,” admits a local male CEO of a solar company. The verdict: planetary sensitivity pays.

Green Your Ride
In Los Angeles, you are what you drive, but in San Francisco, it is often what you don’t drive that counts.
The Prius has emerged as the new Porsche, the Smart Car is the new Benz, and the Tesla Roadster is due to become the ultimate date magnet. A 2008 national survey conducted by Challenge X, the college engineering competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors, found that 88 percent of women would rather be chatted up by a man who had the latest fuel-efficient ride versus a new flashy sports car. In addition, 45 percent of the 18- to 43-year-olds proclaimed it a fashion faux pas to drive a car that is not environmentally friendly. No wonder GM is working so hard on the Volt.
As a case in point, Atherton Councilmember and former Mayor Charles Marsala just traded in his electric scooter for a new luxury Lexus RX 400h hybrid utility vehicle in slate blue and is reportedly having trouble keeping the green girls at bay. “I find women intrigued and wanting to know more about the car. They seem to think I did my homework and have brains,” says Marsala.
Vast assumptions are made about a man’s private parts based on his choice of wheels. “Whenever I see guys in fast sports cars or big humvees, I always tend to think they’re lacking something somewhere else,” says Summer Rayne Oakes, an eco-supermodel, activist and Discovery Planet Green spokesperson. Jessica Mullens agrees: “Ferraris scream midlife crisis or connote a need to compensate for physical or psychic shortcomings. I would be delighted to be picked up in a Prius.”
The Prius situation has become more complicated now that gas prices have skyrocketed and these iconic hybrids have multiplied faster than rabbits. “Early on, ladies loved my Prius. It had novelty and nerd factor — a killer combination of ‘this guy cares’ and ‘this guy has enough dough to pay full list price for a Toyota with batteries,’” states a male San Francisco CEO of a mobile software startup, who ditched his SUV after seeing An Inconvenient Truth on a Spare the Air day. “Now, ladies are neutral on the Prius. With high gas prices, it’s hard to tell whether a guy has a Prius because he cares or because he’s penny pinching. My Prius is still a good conversation piece.”
Jim Coombes corroborates the point: “Minimizing your carbon footprint can be a status symbol if you can pay up to do it. Is anyone chasing after the guy in the Toyota Yaris? That said, last night the restaurant valets parked some guy’s Smart Car between the Jaguar and the Ferrari right out in front.”
Going car-less is predicted to become as enticing as going topless. Pure urban hipsters are opting for car share programs like City CarShare and Zip Car or forgoing wheels all together in favor of the walking, busing and biking life. Cycling-only eco citizens admit that this can hinder dating spontaneity like last-minute trips to Muir Woods, but that they apparently make up for it by having the best bodies.

Eco-Chic, Not Eco-Freak
While a person with a green glow is increasingly desirable to San Franciscans, a person who is eco-psycho is decidedly not. Staying positive is a long-standing rule of successful dating, and environmentalism is no exception.
Showing authentic passion for the planet can score points with your promising companion across the table. A prominent male San Francisco venture capitalist, who owns an SUV and is on the list for the $100,000 Tesla electric sports car, articulates, “I think it is all about value systems. Being thoughtful about the environment is part of a value system that cares about the world.” Never mind about that SUV, he brings his own designer bag to the store — “paper is worse than plastic” — and thinks the most attractive women are those who are “green knowers, not green poseurs.”
On the other hand, being a Doomsday David or Daisy and talking about how the world is coming to an end is not likely to result in an amorous finale. Summer Rayne Oakes says, “I know a few green psychos who exude an air of desperation. Let me tell you something — it is not attractive. I like a man who stays positive and focuses on solutions.” Jim Coombes sums up the allure of eco-chic versus eco-freak: “A woman who knows what’s going on in the world is always going to be a more compelling date than someone who insists on organic pad Thai but can’t find Thailand on a map.”

Tricks of the Trade
San Franciscans searching for love are finding themselves increasingly making eco-friendly moves out of habit. Walking arm-in-arm instead of taking a taxi and carrying back recyclables from a hike are occurring more frequently and upping the eco-sexy quotient of dating life. Most in-the-know have Green Cab’s digits (415.626.GREEN) on speed dial.
If it is a special occasion or you are in trouble, beautiful sustainable flowers from Whole Foods or Organic Bouquet can save the day. No green girl can resist organic or Fair Trade chocolate from enlightened brands such as Green & Black’s, Endangered Species, Alter Eco, and Dagoba. Green pick-up lines can be hit or miss. Revealing that you are the head of a newly-IPO’d wind power company can be a plus. On the contrary, entering with a “Can you believe that parts of Silicon Valley might be underwater soon?” is unlikely to produce an initial spark. Steve Connell, a spoken word poet with mad skills recommends, “What is a storm like you doing in a month like this?”
The green renaissance is ultimately about connecting with the larger community around us and recognizing our power to make the world a better place. One can only hope that this will lead to increased connectivity with each other — and to more green dates … with happy endings, of course.

Organic on Ice
Known for its antioxidant acai berries and hangover-remedying prickly pear, VeeV popped up on the Le Club roster recently in the French Maid cocktail mixed with fresh lemon juice and St. Germain Elderberry Liqueur.
At the modern Conduit, cool couples can sip the newly launched Cucumber Gimlet cocktail with certified organic Square One cucumber vodka, which has been garnering rave reviews.
Over at Bourbon & Branch, veteran bar manager Joel Baker reveals, “We do a lot every day on the cocktail menu with fresh organic products,” and there is still not a cosmopolitan in sight. For the fortunate few who get past the line at the nearby Ambassador, Square One Organic Vodka and VeeV can be ordered straight up.
Rye co-owner Greg Lindgren says, “Square One is one of our favorite vodkas. At a recent competition, the winning cocktail was the Bit-O-Honey by bartender Lonnie Long with the organic vodka, Bailey’s, Frangelico hazelnut liqueur, organic cinnamon, and the famed candy on the rim.” Organic white peaches are making an appearance at Rye alongside crème de peche and rye whiskey in the Peach Cobbler, guaranteed to lead to a brilliant date if two are consumed.

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