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Global Inheritance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California working to empower individuals worldwide to think and act creatively in solving global issues. The group’s initiatives focus on the power of creativity to communicate and drive progressive social change. Founded in 2002 by Eric Ritz, Global Inheritance has specialized in reaching young audiences to create awareness around environmental and social issues. Because they tailor their work to each specific subculture and event, Global Inheritance has been uniquely successful in reaching audiences around the world.

Global Inheritance
Global Inheritance
Founded	2002
Founder	Eric Ritz
Location	Los Angeles
Website	globalinheritance.org

The organization is especially known for its work in making major events such as Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, ESPN X Games and Indy 500 more environmentally friendly. Using a variety of programs, from artist-designed recycling bins and recycling incentive programs to energy generating playgrounds and carpool initiatives, Global Inheritance helps events reduce their environmental impact and raise awareness among attendees.

Initiatives

Global Inheritance promotes environmental education, sustainability, and social action through a variety of projects, each catered to the specific audience. Below are some of the group's most well-known initiatives.

TRASHed :: Art of Recycling

This program bridges art and environmental responsibility to bring new attention to the practice of recycling. Artists redesign empty recycling bins in order to inspire event goers to not only recycle, but to also take ownership in the larger concept of activism. The redesigned bins create eye-catching works that Global Inheritance brings to events across the country, such as Coachella, which has supported the program since 2004. The festival has showcased over a thousand recycling bins over the last eight years, each one an original piece created by artists from around the world. Past artists have included Hunter S. Thompson, Blink-182 and Fugazi. Each year, Global Inheritance donates the decorated bins to local schools, enabling their message to reach an even wider audience and inspire the next generation of activists.

TRASHed :: Recycling Store

The TRASHed :: Recycling Store is another program that has been very successful in reducing the environmental footprints of major events, such as Warped Tour, X Games, Virgin Music Festival, Stagecoach Festival, Outside Lands Festival, Coachella (under the title, 10 for 1 Bottle Exchange), Ultra Festival, Treasure Island and more. Founded in 2003, the TRASHed :: Recycling Store has inspired other festivals around the globe including Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza to create incentive based recycling programs. The store awards points for rogue bottles, cans and biodegradable cups that individuals collect in order to encourage people to keep the grounds clean. These points can be exchanged for prizes that range from Loomstate jeans and backstage passes to skateboard decks and autographed memorabilia, depending on the interests of the venue.

Energy FACTory

Launched at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Energy FACTory is an interactive, energy-making museum that uses different mediums to educate the public about renewable energy sources. Through installations, workshops and/or demonstrations, the Energy FACTory provides a unique platform to educate people about wind, solar, bio-diesel, ethanol, thermal, kinetic energy, as well as the truths about other types of non-renewable energy. The Energy FACTory has featured everything from re-engineered golf carts inspired by different Coachella artists, such as an Amy Winehouse ethanol golf cart and a Yeah Yeah Yeahs biodiesel golf cart, to wind powered clock towers, human powered DJ Stages, and educational workshops. The size of the installation can vary from a single stationary bike or listening station to an entire playground depending on the venue.

Energy Playground

A spin off of the Energy FACTory, first seen at Coachella 2010 under the name "Sweatshop Mixer" and also appearing as “Prius Playground”, “High Plains Mixer”, and “Energy FACTory DJ Mixer”, the Energy Playground consists of bikes, swings, human sized hamster wheels, seesaws, and hand cranks. All of the equipment is set up to harness the energy that is produced by using them. The energy is then converted into electricity to power anything from snow cone machines and cell phone chargers to entire DJ sets. The majority of electricity produced by the playground is stored in the Energy Well, a fully monitor-able and adaptable lithium-ion battery command center. As electricity flows from production devices into the Energy Well, software tracks all aspects of production and can share, in real time, the results of riders’ work. This incentive aims to further introduce people to alternative forms of energy while at the same time realizing the impact, big or small, that they can make as one person or as a group.

Tour Rider

Global Inheritance partnered with Bill Silva Presents and Andy Hewitt in 2005 to bring Tour Rider to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Concertgoers who utilize public transportation to arrive at the venue can stop by the Tour Rider booth to receive prizes in exchange for their environmentally friendly behavior. The Metro offers several options to get to the Hollywood Bowl, including a direct connection to the venue, making public transportation both a convenient and conscious option. Prizes range from museum and event passes to eco-friendly clothing and accessories. Recent concerts that have featured the Tour Rider program include Paul McCartney, Radiohead, Roger Waters, Kings of Leon, and many more. Tour Rider rewards concertgoers for helping the environment and decreasing traffic congestion, which is especially valuable given the location of the Hollywood Bowl.

Alternative Energy Fuel RC Racing

Starting in 2006 at the ESPN X Games, Global Inheritance introduced a new program that allows participants to race miniature RC cars that run on alternative fuels/power sources. If attendees can’t afford a hybrid or don’t have a driver’s license, at least they can race an RC cart that is powered by ethanol, biodiesel or charged using solar. These races offer young people and adults alike the opportunity to explore the efficiency of these alternative options.

Environmentaland

This theme park/environmental museum aimed to expose people of all ages to environmental issues and sustainable living through games, competitions, and exhibits. Located at the Hollywood & Highland complex, the home of the Academy Awards, Environmentaland was the first theme park of its kind. In addition to exploring the impact of global warming through desert miniature golf and touring the eco-planetarium, visitors could participate in the energy playground, which featured a seesaw and Tour de Energy bicycles that generated power. Environmentaland facilitated adventures in self-powered activities as well, such as milkshakes made on bike-powered blenders and a hand-crank Pearl Jam listening station. Environmentaland also featured numerous events while open, including the Bigger Picture, a series of documentaries that focused on environmental and social issues.

Global Warming Chess

Global Warming Chess immerses participants and players into a life size game of chess where they are the chess pieces. The game is intended to demonstrate the volatile and unpredictable nature of the fight against global warming. Festival attendees were encouraged to watch as the two opposing sides maneuvered to eliminate each other and dominate the board. During each match, festivals goers competed against bands, a polar bear or Halliburton’s CEO. Donning costumes for each chess piece, participants are divided into sides representing the “causes” and “cures” of global warming. Costumes for the “causes” include, Hummers as pawns, factories as rooks, coal as knights, lobbyists as bishops, trash as queen, and oil derrick as king. “Cure” costumes include, bicycles as pawns, recycling bins as rooks, solar panels as knights, scientists as bishops, a tree as queen, and wind turbine as king. The Global Warming Chess program premiered in 2008 at the Virgin Music Festival in Toronto, Canada.

Public Displays of Affection

Public Displays Of Affection (PDA) was launched in 2006 to recreate the way people in Los Angeles view public transportation. In another combination of environmental sustainability and the arts, Global Inheritance partnered with high profile bands to reward public transportation riders. PDA took over major venues including Union Station in Los Angeles that are easily accessible by public transport. Anyone with an incoming Metro ticket or bus pass is admitted free of charge. The project aims to prove that public transportation is a viable alternative to LA's car culture. Past concerts have included Ladytron at Hollywood and Highland and the Secret Machines with Shepard Fairey at Union Station.

Energy Battle Royal Coloring Books

Energy Battle Royal

Currently contained in a coloring book, this epic battle seeks to illustrate the current energy sources competing to provide power to the world, including oil, wind, hydrogen and ethanol. Each energy source is represented in a comic-book style superhero that embodies the advantages and disadvantages of the source. Global Inheritance introduced the various characters at Coachella 2011 and hopes to bring the battle to life in 2012, further educating the public about alternative energy options.

Notable Events

Coachella 2011

A longtime partner with Coachella, Global Inheritance brought its biggest Energy FACTory yet to this year’s festival, along with TRASHed :: Art of Recycling, Carpoolchella, 10 for 1 Bottle Exchange, and Energy Battle Royal coloring books. Participants had multiple opportunities to learn about sustainable choices at the three-day music festival. The Energy FACTory featured bicycles, the Energy Swing Set, Energy Seesaw, hand cranks and two human-powered hamster wheels that allowed festival goers to generate the electricity to power the stage. The 24 DJs that played on the stage over the course of the event were chosen from thousands of applicants to play in front of the festival goers. In addition, the TRASHed :: Art of Recycling exhibit of 50 redesigned recycling bins made its eighth appearance at the festival. Global Inheritance provided further opportunity to recycle with the 10 for 1 Bottle Exchange, a program in which participants receive one full water bottle in exchange for 10 used ones that would otherwise be thrown away. The organization also continued its ride sharing initiative, Carpoolchella, a program through which festival goers who carpool in groups of four or more have the chance to win tickets for life. Coachella continues to provide an ideal venue for Global Inheritance to encourage sustainability through a variety of programs.

Indianapolis 500 2011

This May, Global Inheritance made its first appearance at the Indianapolis 500 with the Energy Playground. The project featured Tour de Energy bicycles as well as the Energy Seesaw that participants used to fuel snow cone machines. The bicycles could also be used to charge cell phones, iPods, and cameras. The re- engineered equipment showed participants the amount of energy that everyday appliances and electronics require in order to develop a heightened awareness of energy consumption among Indy 500 attendees. Similar to the group’s other initiatives, the playground equipment aimed to foster a responsible relationship to the environment.

History and Origins

Founded as "FashionPeace" in 2002, Global Inheritance was envisioned by Eric Ritz as "an NGO advertising agency for mother earth and the improvement of mankind." Ritz was frustrated with other environmental organizations that failed to connect with a broader audience, and wanted to create an organization that could connect with people from every walk of life. In addition, he wanted to employ the power of music and art to inspire people, rather than focusing strictly on money as he had seen others do in his experience. Ritz wanted an organization that would bridge the gap between environmental causes and everyday people, hoping to use creativity to spark an interest in the issues and inspire action.

The early organization partnered with clothing companies and designers to re-purpose old clothing into designer outfits. Although that particular program is now only one of many, the spirit of using creativity to encourage and even glamorize sustainable living remains a foundation of the organization. Early partner companies included Diesel, Levis, Miss Sixty, and American Apparel.

Soon, Ritz was traveling to events to install environmentally aware performance art like the Jiffy Pop tree at Coachella, and by the summer of 2009, Global Inheritance was able to hire two paid employees for the first time. Today the organization is run by a small staff and a cadre of interns and volunteers.

Just short of ten years after its founding, Global Inheritance runs approximately 25-30 programs a year for a variety of festivals, events, and companies

References

External links

Global Inheritance Official Site
Global Inheritance Flickr Galleries
Twitter GLBLInheritance
Global Inheritance Facebook

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