Thursday, October 4th, 2012...9:54 pm
SXSW had an environmentally-conscious stepchild
SXSW is branching out, reaching out to environmentalists, industry experts, conservation buffs, and dreadlock-adorned hippies. The second annual SXSW Eco conference, hosted by the University of Texas at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, is taking place this week, Oct. 3-5.
The second annual SXSW Eco was held in Austin.
I was lucky enough to attend for free, got myself a press pass and spent all day there today.
Wish I could say it was a blast, but you know, it was just another stuffy conference with the SXSW name brand attached to it.
Ok, it wasn’t that bad. You get a lot of folks there that you wouldn’t normally see at a stuffy business conference, i.e. dreaded dudes and pro snowboarders. I attended 5 different presentations today, and while none were overly-inspirational or mind-blowingly amazing, it was definitely a good experience.
First, I saw Senator Byron Dorgan who used to represent North Dakota and renewable energy expert Jigar Shah give the keynote address and the pair did a great job. They discussed the presidential debates, the future of renewable energy in the United States, and how they are hoping to inspire people to actually want to fight for and advocate for clean and renewable energy. I’ve got some great quotes from Shah, which I don’t want to dig up right now, but look for a story in next week’s issue of Hilltop Views.
I also saw some pro snowboarders talk about their latest efforts to ween kids off of energy drinks and convince them to drink water, which is actually a great idea. These guys work in an industry where they are pressured to take sponsorships from companies like Redbull, and by doing so, indirectly pressure little kids who look up to pro snowboarders to drink horrible energy drinks that are terrible for anyone, especially someone who is living an active lifestyle.
Overall, SXSW Eco was all right. Nothing like the regular SXSW, but it was definitely a good networking experience.