After five years of studying sustainability and how best to address the critical issues of our time, I've reached a singular conclusion.  The best way for any of us to change the world is to devote ourselves to bettering a little piece of it.  But in 2005, trying to pinpoint my piece proved more challenging than expected.  Was it may neighborhood? Was it my friends?  Was it my school or was it my church?  No, it turned out to be none of the above.

That little piece of the world I needed to change was me.  Only after addressing that did everything else fall into place.  Since embarking on this journey, I've made green friends, started a green business, built a green home and written a green book.  But one thing was still missing: a way to bring it all together.  Enter EcoTuesday.  Now I'm taking the most important step of all: forging a green community.

Having done volunteer work in one capacity or another since college, I've always found myself contributing the same skills.  Call it volunteer coordinator, newcomer's committee, welcome wagon, you name it.  While the title would vary, my role remained the same: the "hostess with the mostest."  Today I'm thrilled that I get to channel this natural inclination for connecting people into a community where (finally) my interests converge: green business, entrepreneurship, PR, networking, speaking, and of course socializing.

Fortunately for Karen and me, building communities in the 21st century is easier than ever before.  With EcoTuesday, we have an instant set of tools to pull people together.  I'm excited to have the means to introduce my friends and a place to mingle on a monthly basis.  I'm already imagining the synergy when I introduce the alternative energy consultant and the geothermal entrepreneur to the green builder.  This is just one of the many chains I look forward to creating amongst like minds.

Still, for others, creating community is more difficult than it used to be.  As the slackened economy forces businesses to fold, many are faced with searching for new jobs.  Others have grown weary of the grind and are looking for more meaningful work.    With such circumstances, more people are seeking a point of entry to a green career path.  I'm gratified to use EcoTuesday as a way to introduce such people to green business owners and sustainable companies in the area. 

If we each use our EcoTuesday membership to make new friends and connect with others like us, and we continue to connect on a national level, together we can form one of the large sustainability-oriented communities in America.  That's a "little piece" of the world with the capacity to ignite sweeping change.

Understanding Clean Technology is crucial for every individual, whether we are in a "sustainable" business or not. The air we breathe and the costs and effects of the energy we use are immune to NO ONE.

This month there are two special events in which you may learn about clean tech.

EcoTuesday's Sept 22 presentation in Los Angeles will be by Riggs Eckelberry of Origin Oil (http://www.originoil.com/). Join us to learn about the most promising form of new energy: algae! Both the process and the future of this form of oil is truly fascinating.

But first, join me this Friday as I attend a special conference on new energy policy and clean tech law.

Shaub & Williams and Southwestern Law School are presenting an 
exciting one-day conference taking place at Southwestern Law School on Friday, September 18th on Clean Tech Law and the New Energy Policy. REGISTER at http://budurl.com/zv6b.

$ 175  for members of GROWTH CAPITAL INSTITUTE, LARTA, GABA, GACC,  CLEANTECH OPEN, OCTANe, & Ecomotion
Further special rates for university and government.

Highlights include: ECOMOTION's Ted Flanigan "Big Energy Picture" 
speech on megatrends and new market opportunities for renewable energy; 
CALSEIA's Executor Director Sue Kateley report on the newest renewable energy  legal developments Sacramento;   SUNPOWER Corporation's VP of public policy, Julie Blunden, view on how incentives and laws shape & drive demand for  solar energy;   UCI's solar energy research center's advice on partnering with the private sector to leverage research in the pipeline & to   commercialize it; and Seasoned entrepreneurs and private investors' stories of how to  find thenext BIG GREEN opportunity and the FUNDING for it.

JOIN US FOR THE SUMMIT, STAY FOR WINE AND NETWORKING RECEPTION AT 5:00 p.m., hosted by Sweeney Canyon Vineyard, Santa Ynez.

I hope to see you at both of these special events.

Warmly,

Jennifer Gooding

Los Angeles Ambassador