It is emblematic of a larger condition that I've not reported before now on one of the most thought-provoking and valuable presentations from Building Energy '09, the annual conference of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association held earlier this month in Boston — the keynote by Marc Rosenbaum.

Rosenbaum's comments were literate and far-reaching, on one of this century's most vital issues — how do we maintain life as we know it as traditional fuels decline and the climate changes?

But I chose instead to focus first on the contentious LEED public forum of the night, and the release of recommendations by the state's Zero Net Energy Task Force just before he spoke. There's some argument to be made for the latter — actual news — but I judged both to be shinier that Rosenbaum's topic, deep-energy retrofitting.

I have my reasons, but still, you could say my actions reflect the general outlook: people are more attracted to the glitz and gadgets around energy issues than they are to the real best solutions — conservation and efficiency. I'm totally sold on them, without reservation, and still, I'm getting to that portion of the conference three weeks later. 

I'm becoming a fan of Home Energy magazine, although so far, not enough that I'm willing to pay for it. The couple times I've seen it, it was offered for free at trade shows.

Several times while I was reading the current issue, I thought, "this is good, I should share this," so here I am.

During the presidential campaign, I noted a graphic series of handouts available at Starbucks that explored the most contentious issues.

It was produced by Good magazine, and so was this.

My grandfather, who didn't go to college but nevertheless started a business in 1929 that thrives today, had a sign on his desk that said, "don't ask me, I didn't go to Harvard."

Well, I didn't go to MIT and I'm pretty sure I never will, at least not above the level of conferences, museums, and Edgerton Alley, a portion of a classroom building hallway devoted to luminary Harold "Doc" Edgerton, inventor of the stroboscope and the "E" in EG&G, who has been an influence on me since I saw him in a Junior Explorers Club session at Boston's Museum of Science when I was 12 or so.

But I am learning from MIT nevertheless, and another such opportunity is coming up on April 24, a one-day conference on sustainability. I regret that I won't be able to attend, but you can, I'm envious of your opportunity.

I wrote about Second Rotation a year ago, after encountering them at D2E, the green lifestyles show that returns to Hynes Convention Center April 3-5. They now apparently are going by the name Gazelle.com.

The Boston Climate Action Network, in conjunction with Boston Workers Alliance, The Green Roundtable and NEXUS, and Boston Building Materials Co-op has put together a neighborhood weatherization party next weekend in Jamaica Plain.

I include this link to my other blog, even though it has nothing to do with sustainability.

When you write for a big newspaper, you get fact-checked by your readers if something slips through the lines of defense that editors represent. That sometimes happens on a blog, too, but since I haven't yet reached the hundreds-of-thousands-of-readers-per-day stratum, I also try to send my posts to the people most described or affected, so they can point out my errors, should there be any.

I sent last week's report on NESEA's public forum to Henry Gifford and Brendan Owens, who each, very nicely, pointed out facets of the report they thought could be better.

Last night at Boston Green Drinks, we heard a presentation from Mark Orlowski and Elizabeth Ginsburg from the Sustainable Endowments Institute, and for me, apart from the details imparted, it was another lesson in how many different ways the sustainable future can be sliced.

The state has decided to move ahead with two of the three zero net energy projects recommended last week by the Zero Net Energy Task Force.

I reported previously that the governor had asked for one such recommendation, and that the task force had recommended three, in Westborough, Danvers, and Lowell, so this step is both a doubling of the state's original commitment and short of the panel's recommendation. 

The Westborough project is the headquarters of the Department of Fish and Game's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. It is about 34,000 gross square feet.