The Green Team

From an architect and a scientist to good old-fashioned concerned citizens, we pick the brains of some players in Orange County’s environmental scene. Read our Web-exclusive Q&As with each of them for an even more in-depth look.

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s I strolled through the Newport Beach Environmental Nature Center’s (ENC) impressive new building and learning center a few months ago, I marveled at the many sustainable features – the photovoltaic roof panels that will convert sunlight to enough power for the building’s energy needs; the wall insulation made of recycled blue jeans; the all-natural ventilation (no heating or air conditioning system); even the snazzy recycled carpet beneath my feet. These and other features have made the 9,000-square-foot facility the county’s first candidate for LEED Platinum certification, the top designation bestowed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Just then, I looked up and noticed the latticework of wood beams jutting out from atop the walls. “Guess it’s not finished yet,” I remarked casually to my gracious tour guide, ENC Executive Director Bo Glover. “Oh no, it’s done. We opened yesterday,” he replied. “Why waste building materials on unnecessary covering?”

In that instant, I realized how little I knew about green building – and environmental preservation in general.

It’s not that I don’t care, or that I don’t take the future of our planet seriously (though I am skeptical of some of the more alarmist hand-wringing in some eco circles). I just think, like many people, I’ve become a bit jaded. Maybe it was the 437th fashion spread flaunting that “flirty bamboo skirt” as the answer to global climate change; or that high-minded hybrid car with worse fuel economy than my 2000 Honda Civic; or oil giant Chevron’s self-serving $15 million “Power of Human Energy” advertising campaign.

And so, for Coast’s second annual Green Issue, we had a decision to make: jump on the bamboo-skirt bandwagon, or grab for the e-brake. In an attempt at the latter, we assembled a team of players in the local environmental movement – an architect, a scientist, entrepreneurs, and good old-fashioned concerned citizens – who we felt embodied well-intentioned approaches to making our community a cleaner, greener place. Of course, this survey is far from comprehensive. Nor are the members of our green team perfect. (We even caught one of them leaving his very sustainable office in a gas-guzzling Ford F-250 pickup truck.)

We’re introducing you to these people because maybe you can learn something from them (I know I did), which is a good start. And for some of you, maybe their stories and work will inspire you to get more involved. We also decided to photograph everyone in the Environmental Nature Center’s 3.5 acres of native California plant communities – an often-overlooked local treasure we encourage you to explore. While you’re there, stop into the ENC’s new building and learning center. And never mind that curiously “unfinished” look. That, as I now understand it, is conservation. –Steve Irsay

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