Green To-Do at West Coast Green

Northwest Flower and Garden Show

2009-02-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

What West Coast Green is to the world of green building, the NW Flower and Garden Show is to the world of horticulture. For many years now, it has been one of the best shows in the US, if not the world. And this year may be the last (founder's fatigue, I hear). Hopefully, someone will buy out the production rights and continue the tradition. But like many people, I am going this year in part to make sure I don't miss my last chance.

Sadly, Anne Lovejoy is not on the agenda; but Dan Hinkley and Melinda Myers are. And I'm sure some of the other speakers will be great discoveries, if not old favorites. Whatever the speakers cover, the display gardens will speak volumes about the possibilities for shaping the outdoor spaces that nourish us. Wonder if the Rain Hogs that caused such a buzz at West Coast Green will be on offer? In drizzly Seattle they'd be very practical.

Michelle Kaufman, role model

2009-01-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

The Sunday San Jose Mercury News today spotlighted Michelle Kaufmann in its Career and Education section's "on the job" box. The 5-question interview didn't provide an opportunity to discuss Michelle's expertise in pre-fab housing. She did mention the greening of architecture as a driver for new career opportunities, and need for architects to re-think their work, to make their services more accessible (ie, affordable) to average homeowners.

Some mention of her book, Prefab Green, or way of recognizing that she stands out as a leading green architect, would have pleased me. Biggest surprise? Learning that her award-winning, high-profile firm has been on the scene only 7 years. Remarkable the impact one professional can have in such a short period of time.

Not So Big Christmas

2008-12-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

Now that I live in a Not So Big House (under 1000 square feet for 2 people, and no yard, garage, or storage unit, it's a little easier for friends to accept my aversion to accumulating 'stuff.' Those that have visited can see how little wall and counter space there really is, and our ongoing effort to pare down the gizmos and decor that quickly become clutter.

Christmas is the most challenging time. Like so many Americans driven by commercial burnout and financial uncertainty, we're looking for ways to strip off the stress from the holiday, to find the spirit beneath the noise and glitter. It helps to have Jewish friends as role models, to experience with them tuning our Christmas can be like. Whether Channukah overlaps the 12 days or not (usually not much, sometimes not at all), it always falls during the cold and dark of early winter. The lighting of candles for the Festival of Lights helps me hold the faith in the light returning and our ability to all have enough in lean times simply by sharing with each other. Gifts are nominal, almost an incidental element.

Celebrating the solstice with songs, stories and a shared meal followed by a give-away (used treasures and hand-made items especially appropriate here) reinforces this notion that winter holidays are really ways to get together and remind each other that family and community carry us through hard times, whether grief or financial stress, health crises, or just short days with too much rain or snow.

So Christmas here will follow the Not So Big model, with the house open to friends to come cook together, drop in to visit and drink hot cider, sing a few carols, and swap stories. Will there be presents to unwrap? A few. I'm heading to town today for the Sunday paper, to get news and the comics. Should be plenty of funnies to wrap the stocking stuffers, concert tickets, and other written promises of good times in 2009.

Living Wall Review

2008-11-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

Basha Osinski, landscape architecture student at UC Berkeley Extension, took West Coast Green's 'dare greatly' challenge to heart. She decided to begin testing and reviewing a variety of green building products for landscaping, such as ELT's living wall system.

An example installation of the system was shown at the conference as a backdrop to the keynote speakers. (see for example, video of David Suzuki, Jerry Brown, Susan Susanka, or Al Gore on Green To-Do's You Tube channel).

For Basha's first test, she has purchased 4 units and planted them. They will be hung outdoors during the SF Bay Area's wet season, and monitored through rain, cold, wind, and eventually a long dry spell with occasional hot peaks (spring, summer and fall).

Basha's introduction to the product, in a short video:

Greywater Guerillas

2008-10-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

Some of the most practical sessions at West Coast Green 2008 occurred not in the 100-seat conference rooms but in the midst of the bustling tradeshow floor, at the Demo Stage. Winner of the "Dare Greatly - Now" category was surely the Build Your Own Greywater System session presented by Laura Allen of the Greywater Guerillas.

In California, the Uniform Plumbing Code does permit residential greywater use. But the requirements are not feasible (financially or practically, especially in retrofit cases) for most homeowners. And of course renters are unlikely to get landlords to invest in costly retrofits, even with significant savings on water bills. What then can an ecologically-minded, resourceful renter or homeowner do, without running afoul of the local building department?

Enter the Guerillas, who invite you to join the Water Underground. The too-brief half hour session introduced participants to several of the most low-tech, low-cost, low-profile changes to home plumbing that individuals can make to divert waste water from sinks, showers and washing machines for beneficial uses such as flushing toilets and irrigating landscaping.

In down-to-earth terms, Allen also included some key details for success in each simple retrofit, including what can and cannot safely go down the drain, pipe sizing and materials, and where to find fittings. For those who live in the Bay Area, hands-on events are also held periodically. For aspiring guerillas out of the area, GG's website and publication do provide illustrated do-it-yourself instructions and plans.

In these days of drought, floods, and climate crisis, we can't afford to waste water by towing the modern line of rainwater-as-waste, all water in the house needing to be potable, and all water from home drains requiring treatment at a municipal plant. Literally anyone can implement the simplest of the Guerillas' suggestions; and courage is built one success at a time. Go ahead - I double-dog dare ya.

In the Cards: dare greatly '08

2008-10-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

Conference organizers promoted West Coast Green's 2008 theme, "dare greatly," in a number of clever ways. Host Donald Simon alluded to it often while introduding speakers. T-shirts and other conference merchandise sported catchy send-ups to the theme, like the stand-alone "triple dog dare ya" on the back of the one now in my home. And forum facilitators encouraged attendees getting to know each other to discuss how this concept was sparking new ideas and resolutions to take home.

My favorite marketing device, however, was the cards. The size of business cards, but printed in bold colors and lightly laminated (or maybe heavily coated with kaolin), these cards were offered to conference goers at the entry to session rooms, on tables in hallways, at happy hours - wherever folks might see and pick them up. Some posed specific challenges, such as, "Imagine yourself doing what gives you the most joy - share that with 2 people." and "do something that makes you nervous" and "Ask someone to lunch, ask them about his/her story - then listen." Other cards left room to write in one's own challenge, simply offering the opening, "I dare myself to:" or "I double dare myself to:". Specific dare cards asked their holders to trade them with other attendees; and the soon-to-be daring were allowed to take as many cards as they could use or share.

Was the clever marketing effective, or just clever? For me, it was effective. I didn't trade cards while 'networking,' or choose to meet all of the challenges. But they cause me to reflect, to discuss, to give myself some credit, and to increase the ambition level of some goals for myself. And it gave me a lens to recognize and acknowledge the daring exercised by some of my colleagues, and by various conference vendors and presenters - and to take heart.

Dare Greatly

2008-10-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

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

Harbinger House, outdoors

2008-09-28T18:46:00.000-07:00

Outdoors, the landscaping of Harbinger House by Sprout Studio and Gardens fit well with the building and its themes.

Using raised beds for veggies and herbs in the side yard is always a nice idea - but putting them in rolling tubs was a beautiful twist.

Natives and drought tolerant plants were utilized appropriately; and the pots of bamboo worked remarkably well to screen out noise from the surrounding tradeshow floor.

Catching rainwater from the roof may not be revolutionary any more; but the Rainwater Hog containers chosen worked especially well for the site.

The three ancient olive trees on the site also added ambiance as climate-appropriate large plantings to anchor the yard.

The only outdoor feature that didn't synch with the green theme of the house was the over-the-top outdoor kitchen, complete with refridgerator and enormous grill. But that, apparently, was not a choice made by Sprout. So, like landscape designers often have to do, they worked around this obstacle.

Blogging West Coast Green

2008-09-27T23:15:00.000-07:00

Well, covering West Coast Green was the endurance event expected. Trying to report live from the convention center while absorbing and digesting so much information, and the experience of so many attendees, proved too difficult to manage. So, like the 2008 Olympics, "live" is not so literal as it used to be. Almost live would be more accurate.

Each day, we ran from session to session, filling the few gaps between with optional activities (a visit to the Nap Room, conversation forums and networking events, the giant tradeshow floor). And each night we uploaded photos, video clips, and very brief posts about the day's highlights.

So much happened, the notes will be hard to interpret as time passes, and the immediacy of emotional impact and intellectual fire will dim. To capture it all as well as possible, tomorrow will be dedicated to getting as much of the remaining detail and visuals up online as can be done. Learning from the hard-won wisdom of many speakers, we'll rest up, have some normal life (laundry, a walk, a little cooking), and then get down to work.

Bookstore at West Coast Green

2008-09-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

The cornucopia of books offered for sale at West Coast Green by Lafayette Book Store reflected well one of the main themes running through the conference - the interconnections among the systems (food, housing, transportation, energy, etc) that support human life. Dozens of books were displayed, ranging from theoretical to technical, from political to spiritual, and from academic to journalistic. Broad subject areas included the food system (failures, successes, and need for reform), renewable energy, green business and economics, permaculture and organic gardening, home building and remodelling, and community planning.

The owner, who organizes specialty collections for large events, was pleased overall with the fit between the offerings and the interests of conference attendees. The only big surprise, he said, was the demand for books on ecology written for children. The small supply of those sold out on day one.

Garden Design and Ecology

2008-09-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

Geoff Hall, co-owner of Sentient Landscapes, gave an elegant overview of ecological design basics during his afternoon session at West Coast Green today. He systematically presented his distillation of ecological design principles, and explained each of the five through clear and visually appealing examples.

David Gottfried

2008-09-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

David Gottfried, co-founder of the US Green Building Council, offered both interesting information and thought-provoking insights during the conversational panel with other "Luminaries in Green." This afternoon's session at West Coast Green gave me an introduction to Gottfried, whose work since 'dreaming up' the USGBC and LEED in 1992 has affected and shaped the green building industry so profoundly.

Gottfried mentioned both the downsides of "green" being adopted so widely as a buzzword, but also the power of green building councils around the world ("a UN of councils") to drive improvements in the standards for measuring "green-ness." He also pointed participants to the last chapter of his book, Greed to Green: The Transformation of an Industry and a Life, on what it means to actually live a green life, rather than just drive "green cars" and work in "green buildings." A number of panelists had used his Green Life rating tool to assess their own lifestyles, with humbling results.

Bill Reed at West Coast Green

2008-09-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Bill Reed, president of the Integrative Design Collaborative, spoke largely to the importance and feasibility of balancing personal development and career pursuits during his participation in the West Coast Green panel this afternoon on Luminaries in Green.

Just back from a two-month complete break from work life (no meetings, no projects, not even email), the benefits of recharging in order to maintain energy and focus really showed in him.

Michelle Kaufman

2008-09-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

Michelle Kaufmann, a light in her own right, moderated a panel at West Coast Green this afternoon entitled, "Luminaries of Green." Kaufmann spoke solo at a separate session on her work with Prefab as a design solution to some of the challenges of green building.

Charmingly honest and forthcoming about her own experiences in the field (and life), Kaufmann drew excellent interaction and candidness from her panel (Sim Van der Ryn, Bill Reed and David Gottfried).

Sim Van der Ryn

2008-09-27T22:23:00.000-07:00

Hearing Sim Van der Ryn contribute his thoughts in a panel with other green building "luminaries" this afternoon was a marvelous experience. I've wanted to see the man behind the words and thoughts ever since reading his seminal book, Ecological Design.

In a gracefully moderated conversation, Sim spoke of the experiences that led him into his field, and the core of whole systems thinking that drives his practice. Very down-to-earth despite his eminence in the field, he deserves the respectful title of grandfather of the movement. And his constructive criticisms of "green building" as a narrowed focus of ecological design (and living) ring very true, ardent without being dismissive.

Continuing daily in his self-described role of "renegade and teacher," it is easy to see why Van der Ryn inspires his students and colleagues to think more broadly, feel more deeply, and act more daringly than they ever imagined they could.

Tribal Summit

2008-09-27T22:14:00.000-07:00

The US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9, has a knack for identifying approaches to the needs of Tribal governments and communities in a more holistic way than Federal agencies have traditionally done. They succeed in large degree by listening to the demands of Tribal leaders, and responding to them in collaboration with Tribal environmental staff.

In this 3rd year of West Coast Green, opportunities for Tribal representatives to gather and exchange their perspectives and experiences on green building were built into the program for the very first time. EPA facilitated several gatherings, offered at the request of the Regional Tribal Operations Committee, a workgroup composed of EPA staff and Tribal representatives. These discussions lay the foundation for continued government-to-government dialogue on the development and implementation of a Tribal green building strategy.

The lunch session I sat in on was organized in a talking circle. Participants introduced themselves, and then shared notes and thoughts about resources available, the specific needs of particular Tribes as well as the common challenges, and some success stories. As with every session at West Coast Green, the discussion ended too soon, when the room was needed for another scheduled session.

Al Gore Rocks West Coast Green

2008-09-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

As expected, a large and enthusiastic crowd at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose greeted former Vice President and Nobel laureate Al Gore with a standing ovation before and after his timely speech. His presence drew full-conference attendees of West Coast Green, but also Bay Area locals able to attend just this highlight of the three-day event.

Gore's speech touched on themes that recurred throughout the presentations by the conference's dozens of notable speakers. For instance, he gave a brief summary of the right relation between economics and ecology, and a succint explanation of how modern economics is harmfully used to externalize the environmental consequences of business decisions.

After covering a variety of related topics (without delving too deeply into any one), Gore outlined the four parts of his recovery plan, or critical steps to address the climate crisis and related urgent challenges of our day.

Selected video clips are available at www.youtube.com/greentodo

Jerry Brown Fires up Crowd

2008-09-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

Jerry Brown (former California governor, former Mayor of Oakland, current Attorney General of California) provided an electrifying warm-up act for Al Gore's talk at the Civic Auditorium this morning. In fact, some found him to be the main act.

In a suprisingly rousing keynote speech for West Coast Green, Brown drew on his own history in California policy-making, highlighting the derision his approach to meeting the needs of the times often drew. He also made a solid case for why accepting the status quo does not serve the public good, and why green activists should not be afraid to be labelled "weirdos" and "deviants." His message was warmly recieved by the auditorium full of listeners hungry to be part of a larger movement for re-building the natural and human resources of this country.

Coming soon: selected video clips.

Donald Simon

2008-09-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Donald Simon, an attorney at the Oakland law firm of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean, provided his services as MC for the keynote sessions at West Coast Green. Full of energy and enthusiasm, Donald did a remarkable job of speaking articulately with no notes. He appeared to be ad-libbing, but must have thought quite a bit about what to say to introduce more than 10 notable speakers over the course of the three days. Possibly the only participant in a business suit, he nonetheless seemed entirely at ease on the stage and at home with the audiences full of green building champions.

Do lawyers have a role in this movement, beyond sealing real estate deals? Indeed, they do.

This video and short clips of West Coast Green's keynote speakers available on YouTube.

Sacred Geometry

2008-09-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House and The Not So Big Life, spoke to a jammed session room full of West Coast Green-ers this afternoon. She introduced and explained the concept of Sacred Geometry, gave a practical lesson in Platonic solids, and connected this element of design practice to the pursuit of sustainability.

For those who think in 3 dimensions (many architects, designers, builders, engineers and artists), this was a light-your-hair-on-fire exciting presentation. Listener's scribbled down four follow-up recommendations Susanka made:

Michael Schneider's book, Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe
Robert Lawler's book, Sacred Geometry
Educational toy Zome, from Zomeworks
Flatland - the Movie

Hunter Lovins at West Coast Green

2008-09-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

Hunter Lovins, author of Natural Capitalism and catalyst for the sustainable MBA program at the Presidio School of Business, invested much of her time and energy at West Coast Green 2008.

This morning she wrapped up the keynote session, following Sarah Susanka and David Suzuki. Her presentation offered a primer on climate change, a call to action, and some heartening case studies on multi-national businesses that are doing well financially while demonstrating leadership in responding to the climate crisis.

A short clip from her presentation is available on Green To Do's You Tube channel.

David Suzuki at West Coast Green

2008-09-26T22:59:00.000-07:00

David Suzuki, founder of the Suzuki Foundation and host of the television program The Nature of Things, is a grand-daddy of the green building movement.

Suzuki gave a keynote address Friday morning at West Coast Green that brought the audience to its feet. Suzuki's presentation wove together personal vignettes and peer-reviewed scientific data, humor with a deadly serious sense of urgency, politics with reason.

In conversation forums and halls of the Convention Center, his words kept being discussed by participants throughout the remainder of the conference. They resonated with many, including (perhaps especially) some of the tribal members attending.

Short video clips of Suzuki speaking can be found on Green To Do's YouTube channel.

New Autodesk Tools Showcased

2008-09-26T22:55:00.000-07:00

John Kennedy, Senior Manager of AEC Sustainable Design forAutodesk, gave West Coast Green attendees a preview of several new software products created to help architects and designers create buildings and develop their sites in ways that minimize carbon footprint through energy and water efficiency, and materials choices.

Cal EPA honors 2 businesses

2008-09-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Leonard Robinson, Chief Deputy Director of the Department of Toxic Substances(DTSC) at California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) briefly took the morning keynote stage at West Coast Green to present awards to two businesses.

PG&E and Home Depot were each acknowledged for their role in promoting the retail take-back of compact fluorescent light bulbs (banned from the landfill in California because they contain mercury).

Sarah Susanka - Not So Big

2008-09-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sarah Susanka may be leading a "not so big life" by design - but she is all that.
Author of The Not So Big House, and now The Not So Big Life, Susanka led the Friday keynotes at West Coast Green. In a sometimes humorous, sometimes moving conversation with the packed room of green building champions, she stressed that, "True sustainability starts with you - it can't start anyplace else."

Two stories she told during the keynote can be found on Green To Do's YouTube channel.

Harbinger House walk-through

2008-09-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

Harbinger House, this year's West Coast Green showhouse, does not feel remotely like a storage unit. It feels solid, spacious, and well-appointed. The 1700 square feet are well laid-out both downstairs and up, with neither oversized rooms nor a cramped feeling in any corner of the home.

Daylighting and natural ventilation are provided by extensive and well placed windows and glass doors (all low-e and reasonably insulative, for temperature control on sunny or chilly days). The floors vary from area to area - stairs of salvaged hickory, bamboo and cork used in other indoor rooms and halls, and FSC certified lumber on the outdoor decks.

For its operations, many resource-conserving features are built in, including energy efficient appliances in the laundry and kitchen, zone controls by room, dual-flush toilets and an Agilewaves Resource Monitor to track and adjust settings.

Materials used indoors were both gorgeous and high in recycled or reclaimed content, from the Vetrazzo countertops to the almost whimsical light fixtures to the low-VOC wall paints (almost no odor, even though finishing touches were completed this morning). Ecofabulous chose most of the interior finishing and furnishing elements, including this LED overhead lamp fashioned from burnt-out incandescent bulbs:

And one last nice touch indoors - the green cleaning and body care products in the laundry and bathrooms.

Continue the tour, with the outdoor features of Harbinger House.

IDEO

2008-09-25T22:05:00.001-07:00

Two designers from IDEO presented at West Coast Green this afternoon on "Designing Through the Lens of Social Change." Their two case studies, and the lessons demonstrated through them, show more about their design philosophy and approach than about the end products themselves.
Both projects address the need to transport and filter drinking water in African communities. The Aquaduct, a sort of bicycle with a water tank on the back and a filter system operated by pedalling the bike back from the water source to the community, won a competition sponsored by Google. The other project, less high-profile but no less effective, addressed the same needs in a different community, with a different end product. Why not just design a cool device, and market it universally? That's where the lessons come in.

First, look for specific gaps and design with tailored solutions. In particular, concentrate on the specific physical, political, economic and cultural needs of the people who will use the product developed. Staff designers 'go local,' immersing themselves in the community and experiencing its conditions and worldview directly.
Second, flip the normal commercial design process on its head. Instead of the "think to build," which entails carefully planning before deploying the product, IDEO uses a "build to think" approach. In essence, they build a prototype and test it where it will be used, as it will be used. Failures of concept show up early, can be fixed before investment in full production, and lead to quicker success. As counter-intuitive as the approach sounds at first, it clearly works.

Eric Corey Freed

2008-09-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

Eric Corey Freed, founder of OrganicARCHITECT and author of Green Building and Remodeling for Dummies, spoke this afternoon on “The myth of Sisyphus: A Roadmap to Avoiding Human Extinction.” The room was packed, probably due to Freed’s relative celebrity. Rapt listeners stood on the edges and sat on the floor (like Shakespeare’s groundlings).

Freed made a compelling case for the need to take decisive action to save the world's resources and species. Both sobering and inspiring, his talk offered constructive ideas for attendees. His powerpoint is available online, as a very large pdf file (be prepared for significant download time).

Showhouse Harbinger

2008-09-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

This year's showhouse at West Coast Green is a 1700 square foot, two-story home with a name: Harbinger House. (Harbinger: something that allows us to see the future; a foretelling; a symbolic event or bridge.)

Designed by the Lawrence Group, the house is composed of reused shipping containers but looks like a modernistic home one might find in any number of large cities.

The interior was designed by Ecofabulous, and the house garden and landscape by Sprout Studio and Gardens.

[Walk through the interior; and also learn about the landscaping.]

Constructed on the tradeshow floor, the building will be de-constructed at the end of the conference – but not until thousands of people have walked through it, photographed it, and gone home thinking about the potential of reclaimed materials in a whole new way.

First Impressions

2008-09-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

Arriving at the San Jose Convention Center, the first thing that tipped us off about the incredible participation in “the premier conference + expo on green innovation” was the full parking lot. (Not all of the attendees drove – ridesharing and transit were actively promoted by the event organizers – but a good portion of the 13,000+ registrants did.)

Vendors alone represent over a thousand people on-site, with over 380 displays on the tradeshow floor. In some ways, this enormous room feels like any home show – lots of salespeople at their booths, smiling and inviting passersby to stop and hear their pitches. Then you notice that every single product or service offered there has an environmental benefit (low flow toilets, rainwater harvesting systems, green wall membranes, native plant suppliers, solar everything – even electric motorbikes).

Similarly, the speaker sessions hit every imaginable topic on green innovations, centered around green building but weaving in the panoply of inter-connected issues – green jobs and finance, marketing green products and services, green media and internet tools for social entrepreneurs, and more. Picking among them surely poses the biggest challenge for most attendees.

Finally, the conference center set-up feels much like any expo, yet - like the rest of the experience - greener. Even before reaching the registration desks, new arrivals pass the well-marked and widely dispersed bins for recycling and food waste. And the hallways have easels with erasable signboards, for participants to offer their thoughts. Small tables with subject heading cards encourage strangers to sit down and talk together, (like a good host who introduces two acquaintances by telling them what they have in common and then wandering off to mingle with others). Food vendors set up in the side lobbies offer sustainable food choices on returnable (durable) or compostable serving ware.

Overall, the event promises to be the life-changing experience envisioned by its founder and large team of organizers. It is difficult to pull off an event of this scale and stay true to core values of collaboration and innovation in the service of sustainability (environmental restoration, social equity, and true economic prosperity). As “green” becomes the new beacon of hope for policymakers and entrepreneurs alike, the risk of dilution and greenwashing increases. But here at West Coast Green, the feeling so far is remarkably authentic.

Gearing Up for Green To-Do

2008-09-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Live blogging an event as momentous as West Coast Green will be a bit like a marathon (or perhaps more like the Avon 3-day). So tonight at home we have the prep checklist:

Pack food - Clif bars, fresh fruit and the reusable BPA-free water bottle.
Dress in layers (conference centers always too hot or cold).
Pick clothes with care(what if Sim Van der Ryn lets me take a photo with him!).
Charge the cell phones, cameras, voice recorder, and camcorders.
Don't forget cords and disks for charging and storing on-site.
Pack the laptop.
Pack notepads and pens.
Print more business cards.
Print release forms for photo subjects.
Re-read the program and vendor list, and prioritize.
Invite friends attending to be guest writers.
Workout.
Sleep 8 hours - really.
Load the car and check the directions.
Take a deep breath. Repeat. Smile.

Why are We Going to West Coast Green?

2008-09-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

If you love green building and live near San Jose, West Coast Green is simply irresistible.

Basha will be taking photos for the live blog, using all she's learned so far in UC Berkeley Extension's landscape architecture program to focus in on exciting visuals worth a thousand words. (Maybe I can get her to write a few of them down, to go with the snapshots). That field is just on the cusp of a green sea change; and the west coast is certainly on the leading edge.

As for me, getting to graze the cornucopia of green building, hearing many of my ecological design heroes live (Sim Van der Ryn - wow!) and meeting new ones (Sarah Susanka, Eric Corey Freed) is a dream - too long deferred - coming true. It's been years since I worked in Sustainable Communities at EPA (a program that wouldn't have existed without Al Gore's leadership) and had the chance to take the Sustainable Building Advisor certification course then offered only in Seattle. But the excitement has stayed with me; and getting to write about such a dynamic gathering and exchange of up-to-the-moment ideas and case studies is almost overwhelming. Getting to be there in person is a great blessing; and I hope to share as much of the feel of the event as possible with folks who couldn't make it but feel just as passionately as I do about the capacity of creative, intelligent, caring people to work together to not just stop the climate crisis but to restore and rejuvenate our communities.

West Coast Green Live Blog

2008-09-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Road trip!
Well, okay - it's a short trip to San Jose. But we're loading up Ruby, the biodiesel Beetle with all the gear we'll need to live blog from West Coast Green.

This will be our first live blog extravaganza; and it's going to be a challenge for the same reason WCG is so exciting - it's a huge event and we can only be in two places at once.

We'll be there the three main days - Thursday, September 25, Friday September 26, and Saturday September 27, 2008. Long days with a short ride home to sleep and change and recharge the gear. To sleep, and dream about green building, visions of great speakers and innovative design demos dancing through our heads . . .