The 2008 West Coast Green Conference wrapped up in the last few days.
The conference covered Sustainable Living and Innovation in the areas of:
marketing- government policies
- water conservation
- landscaping
- architectural design
- building
- technology
- planning and development
- business practices, and
- energy usage
Sounds very interesting and I’m hanging out for the Australian equivalence (hopefully!) this weekend at Greenfest here in Brisbane (Aussie-land). I’m hoping to take LTSH (Long Term Suffering Husband) with me – we’re sure to come home with bags of goodies from every possible exhibitor… he just seems to have a talent of asking the right questions and people plying him with free product. (We recently walked out of a bedding store with a free Sheridan Pillow and Pillowcase after he chatted with some of the sales staff. Hmmmm….)
The West Coast Green Conference was held over 3 days and took place in the San Jose Convention Centre. It was attended by people from all walks of life, and over 14,000 Sustainable Living Influencers, Business Leaders, and supporters of the Green Movement from all over the world… LTSH would have been in his element! The calibre of featured speakers included Al Gore, David Suzuki, Michelle Kaufmann and many more.
There were house designs made from recyclable material, alternative energy innovations, living walls made from succulent plants (oooh! we’ll have to check that out in more detail!), products and furniture made from twigs and dead vegetation, energy efficient air conditioning systems, new technology in the lighting industry, extremely slim-line water tanks, and other water saving devices. It truly amazes me the innovations in sustainability that are constantly coming to the fore. If you have an idea, why not investigate it further? You never know where it may lead and the long-term effects on our environment might just earn you the heart-felt thanks of our future generations.
The big attraction of the conference was SG Block’s Sustainable House, called the ‘Harbinger House’ – a 1700 square foot, two-story house made from reused Shipping Containers. It was designed by the Lawrence Group. How clever is that? It was built on the Conference Tradeshow Floor and showcased energy efficient appliances for the conference attendees to see. (I’m glad LTSH wasn’t there, else we would have walked away with a complimentry shipping container!)
Actually in telling you about the containers, I now recall a few months back reading a post on a Shipping List Site that a rep from a Shipping Company went to the docks to organise the removal of several shipping containers that were stored there and that hadn’t been used for some years. They were gone. After some investigation, the containers were found… now a house on someone’s property! Sort of another definition for squatting???