Al Gore is Kinda Cute

I’ve always been a fan of older men. Today I fell for another one, Mr. Al Gore. Al (I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I called him by his first name) came to DC to give a presentation for the We Campaign. Greenette sent me an invitation, so I clicked through, got my free ticket and headed off to DAR Constitution Hall yesterday along with my 3,699 best friends.

Al’s presentation was truly inspirational (click here for the transcript). With his slight southern accent and relaxed presence, I felt like he was talking directly to me about all the things I CAN do (even though I was waaay in the back). It’s always nice to hear what we CAN do versus things that cannot be done. It was also nice that there was a limited amount of politicking in the presentation (though there were some slightly crazy protesters outside).

Al’s concept was that the US move to use of entirely carbon-free fuel and electricity (bye bye petrochemicals and coal!) within TEN years. His inspiration: JFK’s similarly ambitious dedication to putting a man on the moon in ten years (we did it in just over 8). His arguments for why this is possible were quite compelling: the US has vast renewable resources including sunlight, wind, and geothermal. All of which can be tapped at a relatively low cost, particularly when compared to skyrocketing economic and environmental costs for oil and coal. His arguments for why we HAVE to do it were equally compelling: environment, economy (hello job creation!), national security (no more borrowing money from China to pay Saudi Arabia).

The one thing missing was behavioral change: all this is good, but we need to think about our own personal choices. How do we reduce demand for fuel/electricity? How do we drive less? How do we plan better?

Overall, great presentation Al. I’ll be sure to let my hubby know he has some competition.

On the Road: Gulf Coast Green

There are many great green building conferences out there but I want to call out one that I will make a point to attend this year: Gulf Coast Green (April 3-6, Houston). First of all, I love that this is a regional approach with targeted strategies for a specific climate. We don't all live on the same latitude and we aren't all dealing with the same challenges. One size does not fit all.

I used to live in Houston and I can tell you - there are real challenges for green building when you're cooling year-round and natural venitlation is never an option for commercial office buildings due to mold and other moisture issues. While many so-called green buildings occur in a vacuum without ever addressing site issues holistically, stormwater management is key in the Gulf Coast region. And despite an abundance of precipitation during hurricane season, recent challenges in Atlanta prove that water conservation is still also high on the list of priorities.

The reasons I will attend this conference? First of all, I am looking forward to keynotes Jared Diamond, Ken Yeang and Ira Magaziner. The rest of the line-up is stellar too.

In my past experience (2006) the speakers were all first-rate and I learned a lot for my money - unlike GreenBuild 2007, which was oversold and overpriced considering I wasn't able to attend any of my first-pick sessions.

Second of all, they walk the talk. The consumer expo is the first ever in the U.S. to require only green certified products (certified by 3rd parties such as Green guard, Green Seal, Energy Star etc. and services (e.g. minimum no. of LEED-APs for design service firms). Visit the “Green Guidelines” page for more information.

And exhibitors are not allowed to give out throw-aways. Offers such as rebates are encouraged, but no goody bags, not notepads, pens, pencils, no junk. All of the food is organic and lcoal wherever possible, all conference waste will be recycled, offsets are being purchased for 100% of the conference, banners are printed on organic cotton, etc.

And finally, if the 2006 conference is any predictor, my fellow attendees will be a great mix of sustainably focused professionals from development, design, construction, public sector, and a broad spectrum of clients. I expect once again to find the level of dialogue with my colleagues is as useful and enlightening as the conference itself. www.gulfcoastgreen.org/

Ecocity World Summit 2008

For those of you who haven't heard of the Ecocity World Summit - it's happening in just a few short weeks:

Throughout Earth Day Week, April 22-26, 2008 in San Francisco, California, the Ecocity World Summit (7th International Ecocity Conference) will be convening an international community of inspired change-makers; courageous individuals who are addressing problems of the world's environment with thoughtful long-range solutions that are truly sustainable, ecologically healthy and socially just.

Why go? Because cities are what it's all about - if designed well, cities are localized, self-sustaining organisms. There produce our power, grow our food, clean our water, deal with our waste... they are the right level for thinking through the "whole problem" of sustainability. The challenge with cities is that they take people with many different specialties to keep them running. The benefit of going to a conference like this? People of different urban-related disciples are in the same room talking with laser-like focus about the problem of our time. Creative sparks are sure to fly!