Passion

Last night I had the opportunity to speak at the AIA COTE Green Advisor Program’s Happy Hour. I felt very fortunate to be sharing the stage with Dennis Wilde and David Posada, two well-known and highly respected green building professionals. I was asked to answer three questions, including how did you get involved in sustainability, what are you passionate about now and what’s your role in making public policy? I’ll skip the gorey details on the first and last questions, but wanted to share a little bit about what I’m passionate about now.

When I first started learning about sustainability and green building, I devoured everything I could about the industry. I read books, visited buildings, contacted manufacturers and created a library of information about everything green. I had passion and enthusiasm to spare. Fast forward to 2009 and I am still very deeply committed to the field, it just takes a bit more to get me excited. Yes, I think it’s great that there is a new HVAC system that reduces energy use or that you can easily find paint without VOCs. But it just doesn’t make me swoon anymore.

Although I only had about five minutes to speak last night, it did get me thinking about what lights my fire. For one, as I’ve already revealed, I am really interested in small living and all that it means to live with less (and have more). I’m also really interested in seeing how we can make green building available for everyone, not just people with means. As several of the Community Development Corporations in Portland have proven, we can produce affordable housing that is better for the environment and the people who live there. A few projects that come to mind include the two new Habitat for Humanity homes (designed by the aforementioned David Posada), HOST’s Helensview Homes and The Watershed @ Hillsdale by CPAH. I really want to see every unit of housing, every warehouse, every retail space commit to reducing energy and water use, improving indoor air quality and ensuring durability. I know we can do it!

Finally, what has me jazzed these days is Seeing Green. I’ve been trying to hone what it is I’m doing here and my recent presentation about it helped me solidify some of its concepts. [I'll post the presentation soon.] I think what I want to share with you is passion. The passion to look at this world through a lens of opportunity, to learn about what is possible and then to make the change we so desperately need. Look. Learn. Change.

Yes, that is my passion now.