Green conference, former vice president come to San Jose

By: Allie Figures

Posted: 9/25/08

West Coast Green, a three-day event that opens today at San Jose McEnery Convention Center, is the largest environmentally friendly version of the typical home and garden show in the country, according to its Web site.

The conference has grown into an event where the latest and greatest in environmental technology and innovation are showcased.

Former vice president Al Gore is scheduled to be a keynote speaker on Saturday.

The conference will provide a chance for networking among businesses and homeowners, consulting for inventors and entrepreneurs, previewing products set to go on the market and a facility for resting and relaxing.

"I see West Coast Green catalyzing a full-scale market conversion," said Kristi Graham, the conference founder and executive producer.

Geared toward homeowners, businesses, designers and contractors, West Coast Green brought its largest show ever to San Jose in an attempt to join forces with the Silicon Valley's clean technology vision, according to its Web site.

West Coast Green's choice of venue is fitting because San Jose was given the "Flex Your Power" award in 2002, and the "Solar City" award for having the most solar installations in the Bay Area in 2007, according to the city's green vision Web site.

Mayor Chuck Reed proclaimed his intentions to make San Jose the clean technology capital of the world in his inaugural address as mayor. Reed's green vision for the city included several goals for the next 15 years, such as converting waste to energy, creating 25,000 clean technology jobs, reducing the city's energy use and recycling wastewater, according to the city's green vision Web site.

The main exhibit for the event is the pre-fabricated home designed by SG Blocks made from shipping containers called the Harbinger, the conference Web site states.

The house's features include two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a balcony and outdoor kitchen, according to the convention's Web site. A monitor is built into the Harbinger to calculate the resident's carbon footprint.

According to Sustainable Industries, an online green business magazine, the West Coast Green conference doesn't turn a profit and relies on sponsor-subsidized ticket prices to fund the event. The cost for three-day tradeshow admissions, excluding the keynote speakers, is $45 presale and $65 onsite.

Former vice president Al Gore is scheduled to be a keynote speaker on Saturday, and attendees will be charged an extra $84 to hear his speech.

Gore wrote the bestselling book and Academy Award-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," and was the co-recipient for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

Also in 2007, Gore helped organize the first "Live Earth: the Concerts for a Climate in Crisis."

According to the concert's Web site, the event was hosted in 132 countries on all seven continents, reaching an audience of two billion people.

A news release from the organization said the 2008 concert is scheduled for Dec. 7 in Mumbai, India.