My default position on corporations is pretty lefty, that they are not unlike stiff dicks — driven to get what they want, not caring about anything else. Pretty much of all them are chartered for self-preservation with blinders to social interests or social costs.

But I've been opening to a more nuanced position, based on the experiences of Adam Werbach and Wal Mart, and to a lesser extent, the writings of Joel Makower.

350.org, an climate-crisis action organization that I've written about before (here and here), is asking people to send word to both presidential candidates, urging them to attend the Conference of the Parties, a global governmental gathering in Poland in December, a post-Kyoto next step toward global cooperation for the environment.

The first stop on our personal version of the Green Buildings Open House tour on Saturday was off the beaten path, if not the grid, to the several buildings of the Sirius Community in Shutesbury. Even before we arrived, the last dot of the Prius's gas gauge was blinking, with no gas stations in sight for several miles back.

I swear the following is true, but it would have to be for me to tell the story; as fiction, it'd be horribly, embarrassingly lame.

I mention a few action items in my post about GreenFest. But also that day, I got on the mailing list of The Green Decade Coalition/Newton, an apparently very active group. Here are some events from my first mailing from them...

Tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 4, a tour of four solar homes and a community solar project. Gather in Newton at 9:30; tour is 10-2. $18 at the door. More information here.

Another in a series of miniprofiles of sustainability-minded people who are working to reduce humankind’s footprint on the planet. To recap, they're "mini" not only because they're short, but because all the questions are 10 words or less, and the answers are requested to match. Please, no counting.

I don't know anyone who doesn't have some reservation with the term "green" to describe the movement toward a more environmentally sound future. (Brian Butler, owner of Boston Green Building and a recent respondent to my "Green People" series (and how inadequate is that as a name for a series!) is the most recent example I've encountered.)

The people at Good magazine have a good name, if you get what I mean. Some people might think you're saying that the magazine is good, when you're only meaning to say that the name of the magazine is Good. Especially when it's the first word of a headline, as it is above. Good thinking, no? No wait...

The auction last Thursday brought in more than $38 million altogether, and the state intends to spend its portion on energy-saving efforts.

Here's more from the Globe's Erin Ailworth.

Nature showed a bit of ingratitude this weekend, washing out the two planned days of Greenfest and dampening the make-up day Sunday. Though the tables were protected top and sides by tenting, there were still plenty of opportunities to get wet, and I watched an informative presentation by architect Bill Boehm with my shoes in puddles of rainwater.

Still, I learned a few things...