John Tooley's address got the conference off to an inspiring start. "This is our moment. This is our decade" and "the Earth is one system too large to fail" were themes that echoed throughout the conference. Everyone I talked with felt like they were part of a bigger purpose and were excited to feel as though they were a contributing player to a big movement that would help our country.
A seminar I found very encouraging was the presentation about the Austin mandatory energy audit at point of sale program that has been in place for almost a year. Across the country, there has been resistance from Realtors' Associations to this idea. But Austin's Realtor community decided they wanted to be part of a process that would produce big changes in their community rather than just a contrary force, and so their commitment to the process helped in its success. The representative from the Realtors at the presentation reiterated John Tooley's theme: They decided to look beyond their short term needs and see how they could help create a win-win situation for everyone and our Earth, which it seems Austin has done.
I thoroughly enjoyed the duelling North and South presentation, particularly the "geothermal is government subsidized bling" comment. I did wonder, however, why the audience was not offered some of the wine and beer that the presenters were enjoying!!!
Benjamin Goldstein from the DOE always brought an inspiring but very realistic perspective to every seminar he was involved in. I particularly liked his thoughts when he talked about a need for National Standards for work and training, and his grateful nod to BPI, which he recognized as having toiled in this arena for 25 years with very little governmental support. He regularly reiterated that under the current administration, there would be consistent financial and logistical support for industry-based initiatives.
It was great to sit and listen to some of the major decision makers talk about their vision for the future of the industry, including Larry Zarker and Steve Baden. And it almost brought the audience to tears when Benjamin told the story of asking John Tooley and his company to spearhead the task of writing industry Work Standards over the next five months. When someone had commented that some of John's key staff may be too busy to drop everything for several months to work on the project, John's comment was, "no, they will willingly do it if their country asks it of them." The theme of scaling up for a huge national need, as we did during World War II, came up over and over again.
There were so many classes I wish I could have taken. But the ones I did take all left me feeling inspired about the quality of people spearheading our industry, the quality of people working at every level in it, and the excitement and commitment all the participants felt. What inspired, thoughtful, sincere and dedicated people we have involved at every level—from HVAC guys to policy makers, insulators, trainers, auditors and more—who all seem willing to work together to make this truly "our decade, our time" and ensure that Earth as a system truly never fails.
The Founder of AHA (Advanced Home Analysts) in Santa Fe, Amanda Evans is a certified HERS rater (RESNET), BPI Building Analyst and certified energy auditor by CMC Energy Services. She is the Chair of the Santa Fe Historical Green Remodel Code Committee and on the Green Residential Remodel Code Committee, helping rewrite city codes to encourage more sustainable building practices. She's also the BPI Building Analyst Instructor at the Santa Fe Community College and a certified written and field testing proctor.
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