How can we deal with the problems facing our world today? How do we turn a seemingly desperate situation into something positive? It's all too easy to succumb to despair and hopelessness. But if the choice is to do that or to turn what seems desperate into something beneficial, the choice is clear. The keynotes on day 3 of West Coast Green, a conference in San Francisco on green innovation, provided guidance and encouragement. Thanks to Eco Tuesday, I was lucky to be in the audience to hear the speakers and panelists presenting messages of hope along with ideas of how to turn negative situations into positive ones, and even examples of how some individuals have done just that.


Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post, expanded on the conference theme of "The Power of 10," which celebrates the exponential change that each of us can help create. When traveling around the country to research her latest book, Third World America, her alarm about the country's condition was turned into amazement at what people are doing on an individual level. If we can scale up from that, she said, we can turn things around. The current crisis is an opportunity for the country to go beyond spending and consumption to create a future with success redefined as something more sustainable, in both the world and our personal lives. We need to focus not on our deficits but on our surpluses, such as time -- as did an unemployed concierge who, because he needed something to do, started We've Got Time to Help to help others. Though the government still has an important role to play, "Hope 2.0," Huffington said, is about "discovering the leader in the mirror." We need to transform our culture, and the politicians will follow when they see which way the wind is blowing. Americans are feeling frustration and anger, but we can channel those feelings in positive, creative ways.


Caroline Casey, host of KPFA's "The Visionary Activist," enchanted the audience with similar ideas from a different angle. She drew on the mythological archetype of the trickster, whose time has come in our world: like a seed that sprouts only after a fire, the trickster emerges at a time in history that seems the most daunting. The ancient Celts believed that only satire could defeat tyranny, and we see that in current public figures like Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. The trickster is also in each of us: West Coast Green attendees can be thought of as a "council of public dreamers" welcoming the "passionate trickster" in our own heart. Casey urged us to tell positive stories and promote innovative ideas -- like the one of using oil rigs as platforms to harvest kelp, which grows a new crop every two weeks and can be used to produce natural gas or fertilizer. Like the seed sprouting from the fire, we can turn calamity into benefit and find the solution in the problem.


A panel on the intersection of technology, education, and sustainability focused on different areas but with the same message of hope. Andy Mannle, Education Director for WCG, moderated the panel with Hunter Lovins, Founder and President of Natural Capitalism Solutions, and Greg Miller, Technologist and Professor at Presidio Graduate School. In the past, they said, business seemed to be in conflict with sustainability, but research has shown that sustainable business practices are actually more profitable. In Presidio's Green MBA program, Miller and Lovins have promoted an "open source" educational model that redefines who educators are and allows everyone to learn from one another. This needs to go beyond academia, they said; separations must break down between schools, businesses, teachers, and students. A "Madrone League" of sustainability would be differentiated from the Ivy League in part by its pervasiveness and use of many different tools and avenues to spread information. Miller and Lovins believe that education can make the future brighter, and they encouraged everyone to take this to the power of 10 by getting others involved.


I was genuinely inspired by these messages of hope, and of turning despair into something positive and powerful. This is an idea we can take to our personal lives as well as to all the work we do in the world, and especially our green work. I encourage everyone to think of ways you can turn difficult, negative situations into positive ones -- you may find that the result is better than anything you could have imagined.

Join me at The 7th Annual City of Santa Monica AltBuild Expo Friday and Saturday, May 7‐8, 2010 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium (1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA).

The expo is free and open to the public and includes over 150 exhibitors featuring the best in green building materials, energy efficiency, and water conservation. Demonstrations and discussion groups for the general public led by area green building experts offering knowledge on what green Bbilding means to them – from a design, carbon footprint and pocketbook perspective.

Our fantastic speaker from this April’s EcoTuesday, Dan Thomsen, head of The Building Doctors, will be speaking again, this time on a panel at AltBuild Expo on Saturday at 2 p.m. on practical financial analysis for energy efficiency retrofits and welcome your questions. Hope to see you there!

In just two days, thousands of people around the world will gather to create awareness for global climate change. People in large cities and small villages, on beaches and amongst skyscrapers, will demonstrate their creativity to send a message to politicians at the upcoming COP15 Conference that this issue is incredibly important to the future of our planet.