Some keynote speakers leave you satisfied, some leave you disappointed and some leave you angry that you just wasted two hours of your time. Then, there are keynote speakers like Janine Benyus that leave you wanting more.

Benyus spoke last night at the Living Future Conference in Portland. Her talk was warm, personal, funny

and informative. Having never heard Benyus speak before, I now understand why she’s considered such a big deal. The talk was pretty amazing.

Janine Benyus

The talk began with Sam Adams, Portland’s mayor (who is funny!!!), welcoming people to Portland. He was pretty straightforward about the general fear that you can’t make any money being green. Not true, he said: “If you take nothing else away from your trip to Portland, take this away: you can make money being very, very green.” Portland, he said, keeps millions in its economy because of its public transportation and green business.

Jason McLennan, Cascadia’s CEO then glowingly introduced Benyus, saying “I think you’re one of the most important figures in the planet today, period… I think you represent our species really well.” Not every day you hear that!

Then Benyus took the stage. She said the uncertainty in today’s financial markets can be used to the benefit of biomimicry, building design and creating a better world. When cultural certainties disappear, she said, so does arrogance. She said the recession is creating a similar attitude that happened after the World Trade Center attacks – where “the world is open to listening to the next question … As long as they’re listening, let’s make the vision as big as we can.”

What can we learn fro, this luna moth?

In this same vein, she said building models for a place can be created by looking at how natural organisms in a location treat things like fire, wind etc. “Our buildings could have general organisms as their models.”

Benyus said she hopes we will be able to fly over cities in the future, and have them be functionally indistinguishable from the natural environment. That, she said, would be sustainability.

Benyus also plugged a tool she has been working on for the past year called asknature.org. The tool, she said, allows designers to ask how nature would fix a problem and learn from it. She also discussed how future areas of technology can be inspired by animal organisms. She and Paul Hawken, for example, are working on a new solar cell that is inspired by photosynthesis.

But in the end, she said, new technology or new laws aren’t going to save us from ourselves. She said the only thing that can save us is “a change of heart and a change of stance towards the rest of the world.”

These are just a few of the items she discussed. For more, stay tuned to a future story in the DJC. If you attended the talk, please comment below and tell me what you thought of it – or what you’ve thought about Benyus’ previous talks. If you didn’t attend the talk, I’d love to hear your comments. Is mimicking nature the future of building? How important is it compared to meeting netzero energy or netting zero water?

It never fails to amaze me that all green building people will somehow decide to host all their events on the same day or in the same week, making for something that I call green insanity. This week, my friends, is no exception.

Today (Monday): In case you missed it, the Puget Sound Partnership published

These events will keep you running!

its much awaited Action Agenda that outlines the health of Puget Sound. There was a huge brouhaha at the aquarium this afternoon. To reach the huge report, click here or read my article in the DJC tomorrow. To read my past writings on the agenda, click the Puget Sound tag below.

Tuesday: Noel Harding “artist and urban innovator” will speak as part of Transformational Lecture Series. His lecture will discuss art’s role in raising public awareness. The talk is free and begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Seattle Central Library. More info here.

Wednesday: The Northwest Environmental Business Council is hosting a luncheon at McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside restaurant about environmental issues during the state Legislature’s 2009 session. State Senator Dabbie Regala of Tacoma, Jerry Smedes of Smedes & Associates and Rep. David Upthegrove, D-Des Moines, will speak. It costs $35 for NEBC members and $48 for all others and runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more info, click here.

Thursday: The Master Builder’s Association of King and Snohomish Counties is hosting a sustainability breakfast that looks like classic green fare. It’s called ‘Integrating Sustainability into Your Business Planning’ and features Brenda Nunes giving the environmental case, Carolyn Hope giving the social and economic case and Cheryl Isen speaking about ways to leverage and promote sustainable practices. It’s at the MBA Housing Center in Bellevue from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and costs $45 per person. More info here.

Then, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Triad Associates in Kirkland, the Associated Builders & Contractors’ Green Council  hosts a free roundtable discussion on green roofs. Wondering about ’em? Patrick Carey of Hadj Design will tell you all you need to know. More info here.

Later in the day, at 5:30 p.m., Tom Paladino of Paladino & Co., will speak about the triple bottom line and creating abundance through green building. This also, is part of the Transformational Lecture Series. It’s free and is at the Tacoma Public Utilities Auditorium. More info here.

Still later in the evening (if you want a really busy day) David Dicks, executive director of the Puget Sound Partnership, will discuss the projects and programs outlined in the action agenda and how they will be funded. Hosted by People by Puget Sound, it costs $6 for PSP members and $8 for nonmembers. IT is at REI at 7 p.m. For more info, call (206) 382-7007.

And heck, if you want to keep running, the Cascade Land Conservancy is hosting its annual holiday party for King County today from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Refreshments and appetizers will be served, and there is no RSVP required. It’s at 615 2nd Ave, Suite 600 in Seattle. Click here for more.

And that, my friends, should keep you busy!

When the Associated Press runs a story on the ”green grudge” between two Hollywood celebrities trying to outdo each other’s green homes, you know green is going mainstream.

Or is it? Are we talking about Angelina Jolie and Harrison Ford finagling over home energy efficiency? Or Madonna and Nicole Kidman scrupulously watching their water use? Nope. It’s Ed Begley Jr. and Bill Nye (the science guy).

According to the AP story, the battle to the death (of carbon footprints) started two years ago when Nye, a former Seattleite, moved one house away from Begley. Immediately there was tension. Nye said he’d beat Begley at his own green game. Begley got jealous of Nye’s solar panels, and so blossomed the now historic rivalry.

In Nye’s corner: a new solar panel system that shows when he’s saving more power than he’s using, an electric fence powered by a matchbox-sized solar panel to keep animals away from his home grown produce, a patio cover made of recycled plastic lumber, copper rain gutters, and an American flag that gets illuminated at night via a light bulb powered by a tiny solar panel.

In Begley’s corner: older solar panels, rain barrels to offset his wife’s 20 minute showers and water plants, composts garbage, cooks in an outdoor solar oven,  an electronic sprinkler system that checks the forecast and shuts down if it is supposed to rain, a white picket fence made of recycled plastic milk cartons… a shtick as a green guy and a TV show on HGTV to share his info with the masses.

So which one is greener?

And are these really the best ways to green a home? Personally, I’m wondering about their energy efficiency, insulation… house materials. Things that are less flashy than a night-lit American flag. 

And while they may not exactly be A-list celebrities a little competition (and publicity) is always said to be good for business. Now if only Brad Pitt and Britney Spears could get in on the game….

And local readers, when Begley was in town at the AIA’s ReGeneration Conference in April, he said Seattle already understands sustainability… and that architects and people in the construction industry here need to keep up the great work and set examples for the rest of the country. Take it for what it’s worth.

For other versions of this story, check out green gossip site Ecorazzi. For information on green celebs go to msnbc here and click on the picture of Brad Pitt to the right (Begley is picture 5). Interested in the least-green celebrities? Visit Ecorazzi again or the Chicago Tribune (P.S., number 4 is Al Gore….)