Greenbuild International Conference and Expo brought participants from all over the world to Phoenix for one common goal: to go green.
Approximately 28,000 participants and leaders attended the United States Green Building Council organized event. Sessions covered subjects ranging from systems and models to communities and health.
There were multiple events organized in conjunction with Greenbuild. The World Green Building Council International Congress hosted discussions about green building strategies for international cities such as New York, London and Abu Dhabi.
Other highlights included a Greenbuild Film Festival, a Green Building Job Fair, in-depth workshops, sustainability salons, master speakers and an expo with 1,800 exhibitions.
Sheryl Crow performed during the celebration that followed.’ She incorporated green messages into her well-known songs during the celebration.
‘Are you strong enough to only drive a hybrid ‘hellip; Are you strong enough to recycle everything?’ Crow sang.
Former Vice President Al Gore, who’ addressed the crowd at the keynote address, discussed a number of green topics.
‘(Some people) don’t understand that (green building) is good for us economically, it’s good for our national security, it’s good for the environment and those (who) come after us,’ Gore said.
Gore believes green building and retrofitting will help the U.S. economy and the planet.
‘Well, I know (that) we can get at least two and a half million good, new jobs by building green buildings and retrofitting buildings ‘hellip; and by building the wind mills and the solar panels and the super grid,’ Gore said. ‘It’s time for us to shift to a new type of energy infrastructure where we can depend on renewable energy resources.’
Gore also discussed involvement of young people in the environmental movement.
‘Those young people are going to really move this country,’ Gore said.
The USGBC recognizes young people’s contributions by offering a limited number of scholarships to the conference participants. USGBC gave out 39 scholarships this year, according to a USGBC press release. Two UH students were among the scholarship recipients.
‘For the first time I saw Al Gore, making a speech.That’s something I’m not going to forget,’ freshman Pedro Gonzalez said. ‘I learned a lot.’
Gonzalez said the conference brought together people with similar interests, and he recommended that others, especially those interested in the construction industry, attend.
‘If they care about the planet, about the community, that’s enough. That’s a good motivation,’ Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez also made friends in an industry in which he initially had few contacts.
‘I knew no one,’ Gonzalez said. ‘I started networking and made good friends.’
UT-San Antonio architecture student Roldolpho Munoz said that one of the reasons for offering the scholarships is to diversify the people who are in Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design, which sets USGBC design standards.
Organizers hope students will take this information ‘back to our community, to teach people of our culture what we are learning here about sustainability,’ Munoz said.
New Jersey Institute of Technology senior Leean Orama said Greenbuild was ‘amazing, to say the least.’
‘Besides the priceless information, it’s a perfect networking opportunity,’ Orama said. ‘You can find potential job leads, you can be on the cutting edge of green technology with all the vendors and exhibitors here.’
Orama said Greenbuild participants welcome student involvement.
‘Once they see students here, they want to hire them, they want to get them involved, they know they’ve got the energy and momentum,’ Orama said.
Tai Van, a freshman from Broward College in Florida, said the event is important for the future.
‘The future (is) in our hands. It’s up to us to have the ability to make it work, to make it a green world,’ Van said.
UH graduate student James Olden shared a similar view.
‘The one thing I would like to see is more students (becoming) involved in (the) USGBC,’ Olden said. ‘I plan to bring it back to UH.’
Olden hopes a student chapter can be established on campus and that he can mentor the student leaders.
Not everyone appreciated the efforts of the USGBC, however. Small groups of protesters held signs near the entrance of the convention center.
One person carried fliers promoting an upcoming tea party. Later, one protester shared application troubles associated with the certification process.
The public’s frustration with the U.S. government was discussed with White House Council on Environmental Policy Chair Nancy Sutley at the closing plenary.
‘People are getting a little impatient,’ moderator Roger Platt said.
Some of Platt’s tougher questions, which were to represent audience’s concerns, included: ‘What has (President Barack Obama) done?’ and ‘Can’t (Obama) get right to work by doing something now?’
Sutley said the Clear Air Act legislation took three to four years to finalize, and’ that ‘legislation is moving quite quickly.’
When asked about success in the future, Sutley said, ‘The country that leads the clean energy economy will be the country that will lead the 21st century global economy, and that is what the United States should do and must do for our future.’