Dare Greatly

The conference theme for West Coast Green 2008, "dare greatly," seemed a little odd to me at first, as a newcomer to this annual gathering. Yes, yes - there is a certain amount of risk in trying green building approaches and technologies for the first time, a bit of pioneerism and intrepidness required. But still . . . how audacious can a tradeshow - even one showcasing energy-efficient appliances, solar PV and solar thermal systems, rainwater catchers, recycled glass countertops and the like - really be?

After the first day on-site, the call to dare greatly began to resonate, despite my initial skepticism. While the tradeshow offered innovations for implementing green design choices, the keynote and session speakers carried the bigger picture message. Luminaries like Eric Corey Freed, Sim Van der Ryn, Sarah Susanka, David Suzuki, and Hunter Lovins reminded participants that using whole-systems thinking and approaches to design challenges, whether at the product or the community scale, is critical to meeting the urgent challenges of our day.

The specter of climate change was raised, the economic crisis thoroughly discussed; and the looming crises posed by "peak everything" (oil, water, arable land, biological diversity) were cited as well. But rather than using them to frighten and depress attendees, overwhelming them into numbness as these topics can so easily do, speakers consistently provided examples of businesses, governments, design professionals, and community activists taking action to make a difference. And they exhorted each listener to consider how their particular passion, skills, and resources can be applied to weave one thread into the fabric of an emerging tapestry of solutions.

See also:
The "dare greatly 'o8" cards
Great Darers gallery [under construction]
The West Coast Green 2008 t-shirt [coming shortly]
Videos of conference speaker highlights on YouTube's Green To Do channel