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Gallery: Views of the 2008
Green California Summit
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A View
from the Summit
Wrap-Up of the Second Green California Summit
& Exposition
by Racquel Palmese
In the year since the first Green California Summit was held in March
2007, the world has changed dramatically. From doubling gas prices to
dwindling water supplies, to almost 1,000 U.S. cities committing to take
significant measures to reduce their environmental footprints, the
development of green technology has made a remarkable shift from important
future development to immediate necessity. During the past year, the
greening of California government has spun out into hundreds, if not
thousands of local, municipal and statewide green-building, greenhouse gas
reduction, recycling, transportation and other environmental initiatives.
The second annual Green California Summit, which took place at the
Sacramento Convention Center on April 7 – 9, embodied the staggering
growth of the new green economy and the role of government in California
in leading the charge. The event, chaired by Secretary of State and
Consumer Services Rosario Marin and Secretary of Environmental Protection
Linda Adams, is designed to support statewide efforts to build clean and
sustainable communities.
Over 6,000 attendees, almost double the number of last year's event,
filled the exhibit hall, workshops, general sessions, special events and
breakout sessions. Sixty-eight percent of them were from government,
education and the non-profit sectors. This year, the conference was open
to the commercial sector, and real estate developers, architects,
designers and others in the private sector represented the other 32
percent of attendees. Staff from 38 California counties, 94 cities and 30
states were present; the exhibit hall was filled with over 250 providers
of green products and services.
The Summit was the vanguard for an explosive exchange of information on
new ideas, projects, technologies and initiatives. At the general session
on April 8, Sacramento Mayor Heather Fargo opened the event to a packed
auditorium saying: "We are here to look at what is possible, to look at
the future of California, the future of all of our cities and our culture.
I think of this today as a big green thinking machine and encourage you to
think outside the box, learn something, take it home and get it done."
Mayor Fargo introduced Secretary Marin and Secretary Adams, who
acknowledged the dedication of Governor Schwarzenegger and his Green
Action Team to ensuring that California continues its leadership in
sustainability. "Individually, we cannot do very much," said Secretary
Marin. "Collectively we are doing amazing things. When we had our first
summit last year, we were astonished at the great response. Today we see
the fruition of what we hoped for then. It is really happening."
As the demand for energy efficiency grows, the role of the California
Public Utilities Commission in providing incentives and education expands.
About $1 billion a year collected from a surcharge on utility bills has
enabled California utilities to administer the world's largest energy
efficiency program. It has, according to CPUC Commissioner Dian Greuneich,
who also spoke during the general session, delivered massive energy
savings. She encouraged the audience to "retain the lessons that you learn
here today and tomorrow and spread them everywhere you can. We are showing
that when you put your heart, your soul, your resources, your leadership,
your expertise into energy efficiency, you can deliver the type of savings
that we all need."
"I ask you to think now what
additional steps you can take. This is a very important continuing event.
Come back next year with somebody who wouldn't otherwise have been here.
Or come back next year with an example of where you were able to reach out
and change something that you didn't think you could have changed."
CPUC Commissioner Dian Greuneich
Rick Fedrizzi, founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, gave
the opening keynote on April 8, recounting the explosive growth of green
building practices and the essential role that better buildings can play
in preventing the worst effects of climate change.
Green California Leadership Awards
Created at the request of the Summit advisory board to acknowledge
outstanding accomplishments by state and local governments in the field of
environmental sustainability, the 2008 Green California Awards ceremony
took place during a special evening cocktail reception. Awards were given
in eight categories. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power won in
the category of Climate Change for its Low Income Refrigerator Exchange
Program. The Energy Innovation Award went to the City of Irvine for its
Brighter Future for Irvine project.
The Department of General Services took the Green Building Award for its
East End Complex, California Department of Health Services; and the Green
Culture award was given to the Department of Pesticide Regulation's
California School Integrated Pest Management Program. In the Purchasing
Category, the City of San Jose won for its Environmentally Preferable
Procurement Program; the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) won the Transportation category with its Statewide Stormwater
Management Program and the Waste Management category with its Project
Recycle. The final award was handed to the City of Long Beach in the
category of Water Management for its Extraordinary Water Conservation
program.
California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi and legendary author and
activist Hunter Lovins were the featured speaker and keynote during the
second general session on April 9. "I suppose you don't need coffee to
get excited here," said Garamendi. "We are taking off on this venture to
change everything we know about the generation of power and the use of it
here in the State of California."
Before introducing Hunter Lovins, keynote sponsor Coca Cola's Ben Sheidler
told an astonished audience that the company plans to return to nature the
amount of water equivalent to what they use in all their beverages and in
all production in the U.S.
"I would argue that what we need more than any
technology, more than any particular regulation, is leadership."
Hunter Lovins, Founder and President of Natural Capitalism, Inc.
The Green California Exposition
On the exhibit hall floor TV crews were filming, Segways parsed through
the crowd. At one point the Governor showed up unexpectedly, visiting with
exhibitors, even lowering himself into a few alternative fuel vehicles in
the Auto Mall section of the Expo. Among the many dignitaries and
officials who spent time asking questions of exhibitors was Lt. Governor
John Garamendi and Rear Admiral Len Hering. An hour before closing on the
last day the exhibit hall was still crowded.
Comments from Exhibitors
The quality of the folks
that came through the booth was superb. There was a number of very good
contacts, in addition to the Governor and Lt. Governor, who was very
interested in our geothermal technology and interested in seeing it rolled
out. Having the presence we did and having him in the booth led to good
conversations that are still ongoing and that wouldn't have occurred if we
weren't there. The world that GT plays in is a conduit right to the people
I want to have interactions with. It was pretty much a no-brainer on my
part as soon as I understood what GT does.
Phil Henry
Territory manager, western region
WaterFurnace International, Platinum Sponsor
The scope of the expo and the general "energy" on the show floor were
exceptional…The quality of the show, the responsiveness of GCS staff, the
turnout, and the enthusiasm shown by both the exhibitors and visitors all
came together to make this a very positive experience for the CaSFCC. We
have already committed to sponsoring the keynote again in 2009.
Kathy Haq,
Chair, Outreach Committee, California Stationary Fuel Cell Collaborative
Director, Outreach and Communications, Advanced Power & Energy Program,
National Fuel Cell Research Center
It's been
fantastic...Good response…great customer interest.
David Robinson, Sales Representative, Moresco Distributing Company
(The show is) excellent, very good. Better than I anticipated. I was
open minded, knowing that obviously people are going to be here caring
about the environment, but it's not just people caring, it's people that
want to take (green construction) to the next level. It's great. Really,
really good.
Debbie Strom, Business Development and Client Relations, Roebbelen
Construction Company
The Information Center
A special Information Center was added to the exhibit hall floor to help
attendees discover effective programs that government organizations, and
their private sector partners, have created to ensure a sustainable
future. Booths included one hosted by Green Technology Magazine.
One exhibitor was West Coast Green, a residential green building event at
which Green Technology provides a green government track. John Dunnihoo,
West Coast Green general manager, said, "…it
was a really good experience. Our booth was well-attended. There was a
constant stream of heavy hitters in the government world, people with
clout. They were all very interested in the green building part of it,
there were a lot of very good, well informed questions coming from
attendees. I had people emailing me after the event, telling me they
learned a lot and asking for more information."
The Green Auto Mall
From Miles all-electric vehicles, to l Dodge biodiesel heavy duty trucks,
six manufacturers of the newest concepts in alternative fuel and zero
emission vehicles exhibited in the Green Auto Mall on the Expo floor. It
was one of the first places the Governor headed when he paid a surprise
visit to the Green California Summit. The Miles zero emissions vehicles
featured advanced alternating current motors and controllers. "The
Green California Summit brought together thoughtful leaders in
sustainability and gave them a forum to exchange ideas and build new
partnerships," said Miles' Marketing Manager Kara Saltness. "For Miles
Electric Vehicles, the Summit was very successful and connected us with
decision makers and purchasing officers from all over California. The
location was ideal and the caliber of attendees understood the urgency to
make a sustainable change and were willing to move in that direction
immediately."
Rising fuel costs are making low-speed vehicles, or LSV's, increasingly
attractive to fleet managers for short trip applications like security,
grounds patrol, parking and light duty transport, said Chris Strong,
national fleet manager for Zenn Motor Company. Of his experience at the
Summit, he said, "We had a positive experience, a high contingent of
attendees from the surrounding municipalities, state government, electric
utilities. One of the highlights was the Governor dropping by and getting
into the car. The traffic through our booth was exceptional, two or three
people at all times, constant, with the questions and interest."
Hank Helepoloki, commercial sales for Frahm Dodge, echoed his statements:
"We
had a very good turnout, got to speak with the Governor and others. As a
matter of fact, I'm working on a couple of projects for the Department of
Corrections, in the bidding stages, already got approval of drawings. I'm
still working with several individuals for their personal vehicles. I'm
looking forward to next year, and so is Dodge."
Education Program
The Summit's education program began on April 7 with a series of
pre-conference training sessions. Over 400 people arrived a day early for
the Summit to attend these sessions, which covered a range of topics from
managing a LEED project to specifying and buying green products. During
the rest of the Summit, dozens of half-day classes and concurrent seminars
were presented by state and local officials and national experts. Sessions
such as The Future of Transportation Infrastructure in California, the
Green Gold Rush: California's New energy Economy and the Risks and
Opportunities of Building Green drew standing-room-only crowds.
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