This year’s Greener Gadgets Conference in New York yesterday was wonderful, but ironically had little to do with greener gadgets of any kind.
Instead of showcasing the latest eco whirly bots or doo dads, the conversation focused more on our need for more sustainable design of "heirloom products" (products that last a LOOOONG time and need not be replaced or recycled every 18 months).
The brilliant Saul Griffith delivered the keynote yesterday morning and supplied a quote that both summed up the conference and will go down in infamy.
When talking about surprising discoveries of his own carbon footprint he said,
"I was surprised to find out that I am a planet f*cker…. and I have bad news for you…. You are all planet f*ckers too!"
Read on to check out my live tweets of the conference yesterday and a recap of the VIP Waterkeeper Alliance party in SoHo (complete with Robert Kennedy Jr) that one of my green blog buds graciously got me into!
Live Tweets
Be sure to read from top to bottom as these tweets are from most recent to least recent.
Just so you know, #gg09 was the hashtag for Greerner Gadgets this year.
- Had to leave a few minutes early to catch my flight, but i heard the tweet-a-watt won the design comp. Nice! Can’t wait to make one. #gg09
about 16 hours ago from txt
- @ejgertz tell me about it! the wifi here in the conf room is sketchy at best. @heycoop said it’s screaming in the press room though. #gg09
about 19 hours ago from TweetDeck
- in this panel session it’s becoming more and more clear that even big companies still need to learn the diffrence between PRICE & COST #gg09
about 19 hours ago from TweetDeck
- engadget’s @joshuatopolsky is pretty much pounding the panasonic exec on the panel about needless and frequent updated plasmas. nice. #gg09
about 20 hours ago from TweetDeck
- RT @JillFehr: Emily Pilloton at #gg09 – ‘we focus so much on materials we forget about the end user – the human face of ‘sustainability’
about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck
- Gadi Amit of New Deal Design says, "no offense, but granola eating treehuggers are part of the problem, not the solution." #gg09
about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck
- Emily Pilloton of project H asks, "where is the balance between quantitative product design and it’s social impact?" good question! #gg09
about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck
- mark bent just showed off the bogolight. buy one of these solar charging led lights and choose where to give one https://bit.ly/LSY1s #gg09
about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck
- to use a term coined the other day by a local eco-preneur i met with, this year’s greener gadgets is ALL about "SUSENSIBILITY". #gg09
about 21 hours ago from TweetDeck
- the current panel discussion (measuring your hue of green) at greener gadgets is kinda boring 2 me. dif strokes 4 dif folks though. #gg09
about 23 hours ago from TweetDeck
- @joshuatopolsky sweet man. looking forward to ya…just make it fun, not droning on and on, devoid of tone…or i might revolt 😉 #gg09
about 23 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to joshuatopolsky
- @Ecochickie lol. yeah, when ur name was called i was like, "damn, she’s not in the room." that sucked.#gg09
about 24 hours ago
from TweetDeck in reply to Ecochickie - if you’re not keeping up with starre vartan’s liveblogging of greener gadgets at Greenopia, you should be #gg09 https://bit.ly/zfusX
about 24 hours ago from TweetDeck
- "measure what is measurable, make measurable what is not" ~galileo (via saul griffith)
9:25 AM Feb 27th from TweetDeck
- "heirloom products"–things that last a LONG time–are a big part of the global answer, says saul griffith. #gg09
9:22 AM Feb 27th from TweetDeck
- saul griffith just confessed to being a "planet f*cker", like the rest of us. lmao. #gg09
8:53 AM Feb 27th from TweetDeck
- dr. saul griffith, co-founder of a lot of really cool shit, is up to bat at greener gadgets #gg09 https://www.saulgriffith.com/
- Walking down broadway in nyc on the way to greener gadgets. #gg09
7:39 AM Feb 27th from txt
Waterkeeper’s Party & Green Blogger Buds
I met up with Brian Howard of The Daily Green (@socialpyramid on twitter) for drinks Thursday evening and then we headed down to a club called GreenHouse in SoHo to a party he was invited to…and he graciously walked me in.
There I got to meet a HUGE clean water supporter and attorney, Robert Kennedy Jr.
Lots of his talk from the stage referrenced the TVA coal ash spill here in Tennessee. As I told Brian, it was strange to hear a disaster that happened in my home state talked about as it if it were so far away.
Waterkeeper Alliance dropped a new, fun, anti-clean coal site on us at the party. Check it out at TheDirtyLie.com.
Brian also introduced me to the talented Starre Vartan, founder and editor of Eco Chick (@ecochickie on twitter) and Elizabeth Harrington, a super-friendly exec at Greenopia.
I also got to meet Anna Gouznova, a communications associate at Waterkeeper Alliance, and Mishelle Wells, President of MouthNY.
Who else did I meet milling about the Greener Gadgets Conference?
- Mike Kivowitz from LeafyGreen (@leafygreeninfo)
- Matt Embrey from GreenUpgrader (@mattgup)
- Yoni Levins from EcoGeek
- Emily Gertz from Change.org’s Stop Global Warming blog (@ejgertz)
- Martin LaMonica from CNET’s GreenTech
- Mike Coop from HeyCoop (@heycoop)
- Joe Hutsko author of the soon-to-be-released Green Gadgets for Dummies and New York Times contributor (@joehutsko)
- Kim Lancaster of Caster Communications
Some of these cats are old blog buds, some are new friends I just met at the conference. Either way, great to meet all you guys and hope to see you soon in person and around the blogosphere.
Check out pics of the conference and WaterKeepers party on The Fun Times Guide to Living Green Facebook fanpage!
I think every little step toward living green is an awesome one… but eco-snobbery sucks! My goal is to help newbies learn the most important steps toward living green — individually and collectively. Personally, I strive to have as little impact as possible on Planet Earth while I'm here.
