Philadelphia settled a civil rights lawsuit last year over its stop-and-frisk program by agreeing to court monitoring, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee backed off plans to adopt stop and frisk after weeks of criticism last summer.
Organized by the Renewables 100 Policy Institute, based in Santa Monica, California, the gathering had its fair share of grassroots environmentalists, but it was peppered with esteemed scientists, eco-celebs (such as Frances Moore Lappe), and government officials (San Francisco mayor Edward Lee).