AltWheels: Not here to destroy America

By CARA BAYLES

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This weekend marked the city's fifth annual AltWheels Festival-and yet, the smell of City Hall Plaza wasn't nearly as bad as you'd imagine.

Dressed in a green synthetic colonial hat and jacket, Gilles Labelle of Westboro Toyota (an activist known as the Energy Freedom Fighter, the CO2 Terminator, and Monsieur Hybrid) taught anyone who would listen about torque. He took one woman's hand, and pressed his palm to hers: "Right now, I have my foot on the gas. I'm accelerating. Once I reach the speed I want, I barely touch it, then, the engine's not even on, and I'm getting better mileage." The former chemist also co-hosts a weekend radio show on WCRN called "The Energy Freedom Fighters." "But I'm not here to destroy the American economy," Labelle insisted. "I just think it's time we gain independence from our addiction to oil."

Jesse Rudavsky proudly showed off his 2002 Prius. The car has 322,700 miles on it and still runs strong with its original battery and engine-a hopeful sign, since the hybrid battery hasn't existed long enough to prove its estimated 10-year lifespan.

Nearby, the New England Aquarium showed off its CNG bus while letting passersby touch mussels, starfish and sea urchins.

Bicyclists also carved out a large portion of the booths. Since last year's AltWheels festival, Mayor Menino has become one of them. He bought a Trek, promised to install 250 new bike racks, and gave former Olympic cyclist Nicole Freedman the ominous title of "Bike Czar." Critics have expressed skepticism about Menino's commitment to the plan, but Nadav Carmel of MassBike, the state's only cycling advocacy group, feels optimistic. "We're excited to work with the mayor," he said. "We're hopeful, because this time he's actually on a bike."

The mayor took home a pair of AltWheels "Green Pioneer" Awards, for Boston's heavy consumption of biodiesel and renewable energy. He also announced a new grant program to retrofit local diesel trucks.

With bikes, solar power, hybrid cars, community living plans and free compact fluorescent light bulbs, the festival radiated an unfocused chaos. But Antuan Cannon saw this as an opportunity. As co-founder of Envirolution, an organization seeking to increase collaboration between activists, Cannon believes the scattered nature of the environmental movement means that anyone can contribute. "It can seem overwhelming," he said, "since there are so many components. But it's also very hopeful, because we're all working for the same thing."