Last week I was talking with the edit beast about some strategic marketing stuff and he says "You know, we need someone with a big name to take an interest in this stuff ... like Bill McKibben." It wasn't a day later that I notice gmoke's diary on stuff happening at Harvard and MIT and there's Bill McKibben listed in one of the panels.
I went charging off to see the event, but things were a little more challenging than normal ...
I had a conference call that ran clear until 3:00 eastern. The session started at 5:00. It's seventy four miles to the MBTA station in Riverside. There's another nine or so miles of train riding to get to the Harvard square stop.
When I was exploring Boston a few months ago I was hanging out near Springfield or in Milford ... and my Lyme was still untreated, so many things are very foggy. I went zooming down the pike, hooked a right at 495, and spent fifteen fruitless minutes confusing the commuter rail station signs with the subway terminal signs I wanted.
I finally got back out on I-495 and went right into rush hour traffic and a nineteen mile drive down to I-95 – the correct exit. Lovely, just lovely. I'm not much for fuming but I gave into it a bit.
I got to the station and had two pieces of good luck – a parking spot right in front of me after I entered the lot and I was dashing down the concourse as the train was starting to move but the conductor opened the door.
I got to know the Boston train lines pretty well and in particular I liked Harvard Square so the trip in was uneventful – hop on at Riverside, get off at Park Station, scoot down the stairs, and catch the red line towards Alewife.
When I got to Harvard Square the trouble really began. I am very active with waterfall hunting, mountain climbing, and my poor Garmin eTrex really shows it. I've dropped or fallen on it a couple of times and it just isn't as accurate as it once was. I'd programmed the venue's address into the machine but after the treatment I've given it coupled with the three and four story buildings that line the area my best fix was over a block radius and it kept jumping around due to poor signal. Compounding my trouble the venue was on Cambridge Street, which wasn' t particularly well marked and happens to go under a viaduct in the area where I needed to be. I didn't make it to the venue until 6:10.
Feeling as if I'd really screwed up I snuck into the back of the auditorium. I couldn't have timed it better – I missed the first two panel members but I got there sixty seconds before McKibben started speaking.
He is a very funny guy – "I'm using an old fashioned presentation ... that will make big, bright pictures in your mind." He stood at the podium and just spoke for about fifteen minutes, talking about new media and organizing on the web and how $70,000 with people who are on fire for change has trumped $70 million spent by big oil. He had some clever word play about how the practical has become symbolic and the symbolic practical, but it's slipped away from me. This is a common theme for him; the Google shows many reports on him appearing and this being an attention getting part of his presentation.
The presenters took questions after McKibben finished speaking. Across the auditorium from me this curious looking fellow had a question about solar power ... and then he said something about civil defense. I knew I was getting my first look at gmoke but he had no idea I'd be there. I went next, asking about how to get further media attention on the work we're doing with renewable ammonia. The other questioners got one answer each, but I struck a nerve, because four of the people each had a little something to say. While they were talking he snuck over and when they finished he asked if I was Stranded Wind :-)
We talked a bit while a few others asked questions then we made our way to the front. There was a line of people to meet McKibben so gmoke and I split up to find other folks to meet. When it finally cleared he and I arrived together ... I got a polite handshake and a greeting, but gmoke got a clap on the back and a "Nice to see you again ... all of the Havard climate mafia are here tonight, eh?" I guess the 'g' in his name stands for godfather. He nods towards me and says "You should listen to this guy." McKibben does.
I got three minutes of his attention and I think he actually absorbed what I had to say – renewable ammonia, ammonia as a fuel, and rail electrification. He gave me the super secret email he actually reads and asked me to send him a write up. I want to call the White House and see if I can borrow GWB's mission accomplished banner.
So gmoke and I went to dinner in Harvard square – a little Lebanese place called Sabra. I've eaten there before and it's very good if you like Middle Eastern food. We sat and schemed for a long time ... we have shared interests but we're so different. He starts with backpack solar cells and ends with one room and one window while the smallest project I'm working on needs $800,000 to complete and I prefer taking on continental sized problems.
This has been a very, very good day. I think we're going to get the media attention we need, I've discovered a like minded Kossack just two hours away who is doing a service of publishing every Tuesday a list of things I may very much want to go see, it's my turn to buy tomorrow night and I noticed a sushi place two doors down from Sabra. Life is good.