Never heard of it but the waste is not surprising and yes it’s against the current move towards sustainability but I don’t think this move is as mainstream as you think…we both wish it would be, though.

I’ve been boycotting the Rose Parade for over 50 years now. You mean they still have it anyway? Horrors.

Arisztid: boycotting public spectacles since the 70’s. My father took me to see some such thing in the 70’s because I was curious and never wanted to go again.

I do not do it because of the waste of money and resources, rather that I dislike them, however, I have thought about the waste of resources that go into them.

I really think that the majority of them should be canceled, especially in this economy and ecology.

I feel as thought it would be more effective for an entrant in the parade to have make a tradition and challenge of going green itself and trying to get other floats to do the same. It sounds like the kind of thing where working from the inside is more effective.

Human beings have never allowed necessity to interfere with vanity.

all i know is that the singer/songwriter, Elliott Smith once wrote a beautiful song titled, Rose Parade…

Well, decorating with foliage is definitely better than using plastic, if such an event must take place (personally, I find them terribly boring). But rare species? That’s both careless and unnecessary.

I’ve never understood the appeal, anyway….

I think all such useless spectacles are worthy of boycotting.

Foliage is renewable. It regrows.

I suppose it depends on how the plants are harvested. Were the rare plants farm raised, or collected in the wild? If they were farm raised (which seems most likely), then it actually creates an economic incentive to continue to propagate the species (no farm that can make money selling a rare flower is going to sell off enough to prevent it from seeding the next crop). In that case, then as @iphigeneia said, it’s better than plastic. They’re actually using renewable resources to decorate the floats, and those plants have been absorbing carbon from the atmosphere while they grew. Many plants are likely still doing so, only some portion of their foliage or flowers have been removed. The farms may not be entirely ecologically sound, but still better than a parking lot, a poultry farm, or a golf course.

In short, assuming rare plants were farm raised and not wild harvested, then it is no worse, and probably better, from an ecological and conservation standpoint, than any other parade.

@Snarp Interesting perspective.

I never thought much about it. I like to look at the floats (when I remember to turn on the television). It seems to me that little harm is caused by decorating a float with flowers. Commercial growing is a great source of income and it takes great skill to grow flowers for profit. My inclination is to encourage the practice rather than boycott it.

It provided cheap entertainment, especially in a state with great economic stress, that needs an economic boost. After-all, it’s not like they were building a coal fired power plant.

I think the environmentalists need to back off a little, some are becoming as rabid as the PITA people are for animals.

Flowers have only two functions, attract insects for pollination and visual enjoyment. I figured we get both with the Rose Bowl parade.

@Snarp and @Ron_C have a good point. The mention of rare flowers made me think of Indiana Jones deep in some jungle searching for a delicate tropical bloom, not flower farms. Of course, with some flowers apparently ‘flown in from all over the world’, the parade still doesn’t get a gold star for ecofriendliness.

And I just had a look at the Rose Parade website. Sure beats the hell out of our local Christmas pageant…

When I first read your question I was really scared. I thought you were talking about canceling the Rose Bowl! My Ducks are there this year!

@Judi How do they get ducks to march in a parade?

Since the Rose Bowl means nothing to me, I’ll be glad to “boycott” it this year. Ya think anyone will notice?

@Ron_C ; They promise them a football game that will bring them fame and fortune.

The roses are grown specifically for being cut and given to girls or whatever. If anything rose farmers probably see a significant boost in business from this. Not to mention the business the parade itself invites to the area. Or the fact that its a privately run parade that simply has public approval (aka no public resources expended).

I’d say you should probably get over it.

@Judi You mean your ducks are getting beat there this year :) .... GO BUCKS

@westy81585 ; We just won a vicious civil war. We till have blood in our teeth. Bring it on!

@westy81585 I don’t need to get over anything. It was a question. I think you need to get over yourself.

@Judi haha…. you don’t KNOW vicious… we have “the game” :)

I’m trying to figure out exactly how one boycotts the parade if not living in So Cal?

It would be great to encourage them to use locally grown vegetation, rather than having it shipped/flown in from points far and wide. Another idea would be to encourage the use of live plants, rather than cut plants. After the parade, the live plants could be donated to public buildings/spaces, and planted by a team of volunteers. That way, those plant would continue to serve a purpose.

I actually think that in a time of economic stress and uncertainty, keeping long held traditions like this is one of the things that keep us sane. @Snarp ‘s perspective helps to validate my opinion.

What they can do is use leftovers from salad bars and food coloring. That way the leftovers get one more ‘use’ before being dumped (as compost, of course, in an environmentally friendly and approved ‘green’ compost container, and the food coloring would mean that it wouldn’t actually be used in food.

Better yet, the floats could be made with living salad greens (and reds, blues, yellows, etc.), and at the end of the parade could be turned into an actual salad. And of course, the floats should be pulled with horses, mules and other draft animals to save on fuel consumption.

The manure from the draft animals could be used to fertilize next year’s salad greens for the succeeding parade. The whole thing could be not only self-sustaining but a profit-making venture.

I’ll bet it wouldn’t be so popular then.

@CyanoticWasp Who collect the horse poop?. I think it should be the State legislature.

@Ron_C, you’ve made me realize that they may not appreciate the comparison—or the competition.

The way I understand it, the California government spent themselves into their problems. I think all the elected officials should take second jobs to help bail out the state.

@Ron_C, that sounds like a reasonable proposition, until you consider that the profession that most of them are associated with is lawyering. I’m going to vote a strong no against your proposal. But keep thinking; you’ll come up with something.

Politicians aren’t the only one’s responsible for California’s financial problems. The state has an addiction to ballot initiatives that both forces the government to spend money and simultaneously constrains their financial resources. California is clear evidence that direct democracy is no more effective than representative democracy.

@Ron_C ; No. It’s in California. It should be our Governator.

<codger style=“grumpy”> I am disgusted by the big productions and expensive funerals for celebrities and all of that lot. I really do not see the point of such things… including these parades. </codger>

@Arisztid I don’t care how celebrities are buried, just as long as they dispose of them. I have always loved a parade.

When we lived in the Philippines I heard band music and ran out of the house to find the parade. That’s when I learned that they had a tradition similar to New Orleans, where they have a band in the funeral procession. I was embarrassed but stayed to watch and listen anyway.

Rose Parade?

Interesting thought. Since I was raised in the Pasadena area and know how important the Rose Parade is to the communities out there, my first thought is, ‘No way!’ (I haven’t personally attended the Rose Parade for years, though I always watch it out of nostalgia.)

The question really is whether they are using up endangered species that cannot be replaced. I’ve never heard that that was a problem, but I’d be willing to listen to any evidence that would support this idea. Maybe there should be a list of plants that cannot be used in floats? I don’t know.

Here is an interesting idea. What if they combined the Rose Parade with conservation efforts. So like as some have said we still use roses etc.. to decorate floats because they are bought from businesses who grow them for such purposes. (obviously this does not include endangered or threatened species). But we also include an educational component. Each float has information on what types they have used, where they come from, how you can grow them if they are Native to your area etc… And then in the end instead of wasting them they are turned into something reusable such as potpourri or compost.

@RedPowerLady, I agree. That is an interesting idea. That might be a whole new direction for Pasadena to take—and it might help revitalize the event.

@Ron_C Now I like the thought of a New Orleans funeral. I want, when I die, if anything is to be done for them to have a party in my memory. The thing that I think is frivolous is the million dollar funerals, like Michael Jackson had. That is a complete waste in my eyes.

I am not against it being cancelled. It is just entertainment. There are other ways of getting the same enjoyment without the parade.

I’m with @Snarp

@Arisztid my grandmother left money in her will for a party after her funeral. We had a room in her favorite night spot and a hundred or so people gathered, eat, drank, and remembered her. She was always a class act and it was better than a parade.

I have ignored Michael Jackson since he started to turn white. I never followed any entertainers although I am interested in people like Stephen Hawkings and Richard Dawkins. I wasn’t aware that Jackson’s funeral was so expensive. I blame his family; what a sad group of fame and money grubbing scum.

@Ron_C That is what I would like to do if I have the money.

Michael Jackson was just plain wrong. I think his funeral was in the millions but do not quote me. I did not pay a lot of attention.

@Arisztid exactly!

@Ron_C & @Arisztid… Michael Jackson died?

@CyanoticWasp Who knew?

@CyanoticWasp, I know, it was hard to tell. It looked like he was still in the Thriller Video makeup. It just shows what happens when you let fan comments go to your head. He was a cute little kid, an excellent entertainer, then started to believe all the hype and thought he could create his own little world. Too bad, very sad ending.

I just drove to Orange County from Bakersfield and there were Crazy Ducks all over the road, headed towards Pasadena. I am sure this brings a lot to the local economy!

Can we stop the off-topic chatter, please.

@tinyfaery o.k., what do you want to talk about? Besides, how much can you say about a parade with a bunch of flowers?

@Ron_C, what’s all this about flowers? I thought we were talking about Michael Jackson.

I could never color very well inside the lines, either.

[mod says] Let’s get back to the topic, folks. Thanks!