Greenbuild 2009 is heading to the American Southwest, a region with unique environmental and social challenges and opportunities, and the imperative is clear: Green building can and must come home to all people, boosting the quality of life on main streets across the country and around the world. Greenbuild 2008 in Boston attracted almost 30,000 attendees. Join USGBC in Phoenix for the 2009 show Nov. 11-13. This year's theme is Main Street Green: Connect to the Conversation. Visit http://www.greenbuildexpo.org to register.

This will be a great opportunity to inject our pirate signal into the matrix with signs, banners, masks, t shirts, DVDs and everything else we can throw at these people. Sign up for the meetup here! Mu ha ha ha [ED]

Nobel Laureate, best-selling author, and the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary -- the Honorable Al Gore will address thousands of Greenbuild attendees at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz. as part of the Greenbuild Opening Keynote & Celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Along with four terms in Congress, two terms in the Senate, and two terms as Vice President, Gore has written the bestsellers Earth in the Balance, An Inconvenient Truth and the just-released "Our Choice." The first 5,000 full-conference attendee registrants will receive a complimentary copy of Gore's latest book "Our Choice" and all other attendees will be able to purchase the book on site.

Gore is chairman of the Emmy-award winning Current TV; chairman of Generation Investment Management, a firm focused on a new approach to sustainable investing; is a member of the board of directors of Apple; a senior adviser to Google; and a partner with the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He is also a Visiting Professor at Middle Tennessee State University and chairs the Alliance for Climate Protection, a non-profit organization designed to help solve the climate crisis.