Al Gore
Al Gore's speech at Greenbuild 2009 in Phoenix underscored the context in which the green building movement is gaining traction. His latest book, Our Choice, provides excellent background on renewable energy, efficiency, green buildings, urban sustainability and other answers to the climate change problem.

Van Jones
He was the founder and president of Green for All, recipient of several awards for leadership in human rights, and author of the book The Green Collar Economy. Jones's vision and zeal led to his rise... and fall. Our interview with him, just prior to his joining the White House, can be heard in the Green Recovery edition of the Building Priorities Briefing.

Olympic Organizing Committee for Vancouver 2010
The bigger the event, the more attention it attracts for being green -- or not green. Our interview with the sustainability officer for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games can be heard in our Green Events audio program.

United States Green Building Council
Greenbuild (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) is the big annual conference and trade show about green buildings in North America. It's produced by the United States Green Building Council, which is the same organization that certifies most green buildings in the US. Owners, architects and builders attend to see the latest green ideas in green events at Greenbuild. But what's even more notable is the ability of Greenbuild to bring change to the cities where it's held.

Auden Schendler
Much must be done to avert climate change. In his book, Getting Green Done, Schendler (who researched Natural Capitalism) places responsibility squarely on the shoulders of business.

President Barack Obama
Copenhagen notwithstanding, Obama has been a courageous supporter of clean energy.

Prince Albert of Monaco
His Serene Highness Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco, environmentalist and former Olympic athlete, speaks to international audiences about environmental sustainability. bio

Jesse Berst
Berst is an internationally known technology and business analyst, and co-author of the forthcoming book Electronomics. He is the founding Editor of Smart Grid News and a contributor to Energy Priorities.

Robert Metcalfe
Metcalfe, venture capital investor and inventor of Ethernet, acknowledges the widespread "reinvention" of former internet and IT executives into clean energy experts. But he thinks energy is the next big thing, and the internet is a good lens with which to view it. "We need to bring internet thinking to the smart grid."

Matt Lecar
Lecar is a veteran energy industry expert with 18 years in utilities, international business development, cleantech venture capital, and consulting. Most recently, he served as Fund Manager for the CalCEF Angel Fund, a first-in-kind seed stage fund focused exclusively on clean energy markets. He is a contributor to Energy Priorities.

Denis Du Bois
Finally, since this is a New Year's Eve piece, we'll include a look ahead for the cleantech industry, published in the Puget Sound Business Journal and Portfolio.com this week.

Best wishes to you in 2010!