The first part of the Forging a Sustainable Future event, put on by the Heartland Coalition’s UnitedGREEN division was held Saturday and Sunday, November 12 and 13 at Qualcomm Corporate Headquarters in Sorrento Valley. San Diego City Councilmember Marti Emerald gave the opening remarks and spoke about what a green future should look like for the region. The second part of the Forging event will take place March 3 and 4, 2012 at San Diego State University and feature Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the keynote speaker. Kennedy is founder of the Water Keeper alliance, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and a professor of environmental law.

Congressman Bob Filner of the 51st District, which includes southern San Diego and Imperial Counties, spoke on Sunday. In his remarks to the crowd, Filner said of going green and becoming sustainable, “We’re going to do our part here in San Diego. If we’re going to save our beaches, we have to get our heads out of the sand. I don’t know what we’re going to call it yet, but if I’m elected mayor we’re going to start a department of livability and sustainability.” Filner was happy to participate in the conference which brought together so many green experts, saying, “We to have to have a rational and complete discussion based on science.”

Mark Hanson, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Heartland Coalition said, “The Forging Conference exceeded our expectations. We had leaders from business, industry, and government. Real solutions were discussed and new relationships were formed. Many of the speakers sparked amazing question and answer sessions in which audience members were able to share ideas. ”

Paul-Michael Dekker, IT Director of the World Resource Simulation Center in downtown San Diego, said of the panelists and speakers, “These people are passionate, knowledgeable, interesting, and connected. This was the best event I’ve ever attended in terms of networking opportunities.”

Among those on stage were Dr. Heather Honea of SDSU; Dr. Oscar Romo, watershed coordinator at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve; and Mike Bullock of the Sierra Club’s Transportation Committee who “walked the walk” by riding his bike to the conference.

Local environmental consultant, Jim Bell, who gave presentations and was on two panels said, “Even though I know a lot about these topics, I learned a lot.”

Sponsors for the event included Iberdrola, the giant energy company based in Spain that provides renewable energy to much of Europe. Iberdrola is now constructing the Tule Wind Farm in eastern San Diego County to bring clean energy to the region. Another sponsor was Sacred Rocks Center for Learning and the Arts in the Imperial County community of Boulevard; Sacred Rocks, was selling art made from recycled materials. Other sponsors and partners included the Urban League, Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Campland on the Bay, and the OB People’s Food Coop, Starbucks, Wilson Winery, Karl Strauss, Gam3rCon San Diego, and Stone Brewing Company.

Over 75 people attended the two-day event where the all-electric car, the Nissan Leaf was on display on the sidewalk outside of Irwin M. Jacobs Hall.