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Following is an announcement I received from Benjamin Briggs, executive director of Preservation Greensboro Inc., about an upcoming local event:

"The National Preservation Institute is holding a workshop on Green Strategies for Historic Buildings here at the Blandwood Carriage House on April 10th. The session will be led by Boston architect Jean Carroon, AIA, LEED, principal of preservation at Goody Clancy, and will qualify for 6 learning units in the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education System.

This is the first such workshop of its kind held by the Institute in North Carolina and the Southeast!

The seminar will review practical applications of using green building strategies for historic structures. The environmental goal of "reduce, reuse, recycle" can enhance the cost competitiveness of preservation projects. Participants will review the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards used to assess building performance. They will also focus on preservation challenges relating to energy efficiency, windows, lighting, indoor air quality, HVAC, and local and national codes and regulations.

I hope that local architects will be aware of this unusual opportunity here in Greensboro! For additional information you can visit my blog or you can visit the NPI website or contact the National Preservation Institute directly by telephone: 703.765.0100 or email to info@npi.org . They are organizing the workshop, and we have donated use of our Carriage House."

If any of you go, give me a shout out and tell me what you learned.

Last week was one of those weeks where I wondered, "Is now really the best time to make substantial changes to my life?" Everything just seemed stressful with work and a sick child and I was glad to have the luxury this morning of sleeping in. As typical during weeks like this, I cut corners in my food preparation. I still have yet to plan my garden plot for this year and I'm trying to balance the investments I make in a more sustainable lifestyle with other business-as-usual, but needed, spending.

On top of that, my husband and I have to manage the constant sinking ship fears of job insecurity and rising food and gas prices. And we oscillate between wanting to settle here in Greensboro or stay flexible in case one of us gets laid off. (By the way, a humorous take on layoffs, if there is one.)

I grew up in the military and am used to adapting to new locales, but as I approach 30 with an infant child I have started to grow weary of moving around. I long to feel part of a community and community-building takes time. Making substantial changes such as downshifting, altering shopping habits, eating better, thinking through one's problems and engaging government and community leaders takes time as well.  All those things are difficult to do when you are thinking about your next home, your next job, your next paycheck. And it's even worse when you're trying to stay afloat because you're spending a significant portion of your income paying other people to do what most can do better themselves, i.e. childcare.

So, the above mentioned often make me quite skeptical that individual efforts will create enough force in this area to get past the factionalism, petty arguments and obsolete ideologies. I remain hopeful though that the prism through which I consider these realities (my own flawed state) will improve so that the world outside will improve too.

Fortunately, from time to time I run across the inspiring thoughts of others. Frequently those thoughts come from outside Greensboro and North Carolina, but I am increasingly meeting people here who can nod their heads in empathy. What have I learned from them? That I have to not beat myself up, that I have to accept and forgive others and myself for our failings, but that I must have faith and push toward that right livelihood, realizing this is a lifelong journey. What I must decide for myself is if that life is an end or a means, how hard I'm willing to push and what my limits are. 

More and more I see opportunities for rallying behind this new phase of economic development, networking, and building community momentum as conferences and festivals take place in North Carolina and across the country. Creating green collar jobs seems to me a noble effort to reduce unemployment and underemployment in both urban and rural areas that have been plagued by corporate outsourcing, downsizing or just plain ole lack of decent-paying jobs.

One event I'll regret missing: The Dream Reborn in Memphis, Tenn. on April 4-6. I couldn't scrape up enough duckets to attend what looks to be a phenomenal and timely event, especially given my prior commitment to the Center for the Environment's forum. A peace conference also takes place here in Greensboro the same weekend.

N.C. State University provides details on its April 8-9 sustainable energy conference. And Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., hold Green Festivals this year.

Are any of you participating in this?

The N.C. League of Conservation Voters released in late February its annual scorecard for our U.S. Congressmen and women from North Carolina. Question: Why did the Republicans score so poorly?

Find here a meeting summary for the Triad Mobile CARE Partnership, which met in Greensboro on March 4.

At these quarterly meetings, local government, business fleet managers, fuel and technology providers, environmental groups, non-profit organizations and concerned citizens discuss ways to address mobile emission reduction efforts through the use of alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies.

The Southeastern jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church will sponsor a conference April 3-6 at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center. Workshops include "Earth Care and Christian spirituality" and "Making Green Pay: An International Perspective on Sustainability."

The Southern Ideal Home Show will host green building seminars at the Greensboro Coliseum this weekend. Tickets for the Friday through Sunday event are $8.

Deep Roots Market, a food cooperative on Spring Garden Road, has started a new community discount partners program that provides owners discounts at other local businesses, such as The Green Bean and Empire Books. The program, begun in January, is an attempt to encourage the patronage of locally-owned businesses and general manager Joel Landau said this small effort is just the beginning. He wasn't familiar with the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) but immediately I thought that was a direction this could go in if it becomes successful.

Deep Roots, which has actually outgrown its current location, has also begun a community volunteer prorgram where coop owners get credit for volunteering at one of seven organizations, including Greensboro Urban Ministry and Food Not Bombs.

In case you don't know, Landau ran unsuccessfully for an at-large seat on Greensboro City Council last year. But he has been very busy, helping the city sign on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. He told me Thursday that efforts to create an environmental advisory committee with city council are bearing some fruit and Mayor Yvonne Johnson might bring this up at Tuesday's regular meeting. Stay tuned....

I found a  video of a fascinating weekly event called Ciclovia in Bogota, Colombia, where the city shuts down 70 miles of streets so that residents can ride bicycles, walk and exercise. This happens every Sunday and holiday. Every Sunday? All I can say is wow.

Green building efforts are slowly gaining momentum in the Piedmont Triad. Two groups have kicked off education and certification programs within the past two years. The Piedmont Triad Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council has more than 200 members now and the Greensboro Builders Association's Green Building Council, which launched in January, has about 55 members and has plans to expand to Winston-Salem and Burlington.

I spoke with Cheryl Collins of the Greensboro Builders Association and she said the National Association of Home Builders has a set of homebuilding guidelines that are similar to the LEED standards being promoted elsewhere.

Speaking of LEED, Greg Savage, chairman of the Triad's new chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, said the Triad has 14 LEED-registered building projects, and more than 200 such projects are registered in the state. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a national benchmark for sustainable green building and development.

Savage, who spoke last week at a Piedmont Real Estate Council meeting, said buildings will eventually need to meet new energy standards set forth in building codes now under development.

In a press release, Savage said: "The U.S. construction industry represents 20 percent of the U.S. economy, uses 30 percent of the nation's raw materials, uses 13 percent of all potable water, generates 40 percent of all landfill wastes and represents 70 percent of all electricity consumption. Everywhere we go, we see a vital need for construction to adopt green sustainable standards."

Cheryl Collins said the building industry is still resistant to these new practices because consumers purhase homes based on location and amenities, not energy efficiency. That's why the group is stepping up its educational efforts, including holding seminars and giving away 1,000 compact flourescent lightbulbs and reusable shopping bags at the Southern Ideal Home Show that was held in Greensboro this past weekend.

I wonder if Greensboro needs two groups to accomplish this task. I asked Collins if she was concerned about competition.

She said, "What we're encouraging is to take any action at all toward green building. They are both good programs."

This following comes by way of an Environmental Stewardship Group of Greensboro listserv post this week from the N.C. Conservation Network:

"North Carolina is facing a major transportation problem. Since 1989, our state has focused heavily on creating new roads, expanding existing roads, and building sprawl-inducing highways. Now, the combination of increasing construction costs, greater awareness of climate change, and a growing maintenance backlog within the Department of Transportation shows that North Carolina’s over-the-top emphasis on building new roads can’t last.

"The NC Conservation Network has joined with a broad coalition of groups—North Carolinians for Transportation Reform and Modernization (NC TRAM)—to promote a better transportation future for North Carolina. This week the group released a set of five principles to help guide North Carolina in creating a new transportation future. The five principles are: (1) prioritize projects using objective standards, not political patronage; (2) build different kinds of projects, not just roads; (3) dedicate a larger share of spending to maintenance; (4) link transportation and land use planning; and (5) pay for our transportation system fairly, not by raiding education and health programs or by privatizing our public roads. Help protect North Carolina’s future by asking your state legislator to support investment in maintenance and public transit!"

The group also has a blog.

North Carolina's transportation practices are a big ship that is going to be hard to turn around, given the amount of financial and social investment North Carolinians have in seeing highways expand. I remember when I worked for the Gaston Gazette writing articles about the Garden Parkway and how an investment company (with a state legislator on staff) had bought up land around the proposed toll highway back in the 1990s with an anticipation that the land will become highly valuable for residential and commercial development. N.C. DOT can't exactly get religion about more sustainable transportation practices and renege on its road-building promises without creating a firestorm. But at some point the state will have to prioritize maintenance. Is a moratorium on building necessary?

By the way, I have heard a couple times that truckers are starting to drive slower on highways to conserve fuel with the $4 diesel prices they are facing (and apparently some want U.S. taxpayers helping to pick up the tab). I would argue they should be driving slow anyway for safety reasons, but there is an incentive to drive faster to get products to their destination on time. If fuel prices keep going up, truckers may have to do more than drive slow (park, perhaps?).

Four renowned authors and artists will gather at the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) and elsewhere in Winston-Salem on April 12-22 during the annual Kenan Writers’ Encounters to engage university students and faculty and the broader community on the important issue of environmental stewardship and the arts.

Speakers include: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and essayist W.S. Merwin; author and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams; environmental scientist and ethicist Jonathan Gilligan; and environmental sculptor Herb Parker, who will address the crucial subject of arts and the environment, and what authors and other artists can do to raise community awareness and to help facilitate dialogue and debate about saving the planet.

Read the full press release and flyer .