I attended a Green Drinks Mixer last night (get it? Mixer? Drinks?….it was funnier in my head) and overall, had a pretty good time. Spoke with and educated a few people about LED lights, made some interesting contacts, and heard some good ideas about what’s going on in the green industry.

I first heard about Green Drinks about two months ago, as I was participating in my favorite pastime of surfing the internet (of which I think I’m 84% of the way through it). I stumbled upon the site as I was looking for like-minded individuals in the New York area that shared a passion for the environment, and at the same time were progressive enough to know about new technologies and advocate them. On top of that, it would be a great place to network, and an AMAZING excuse to have a drink or two so early in the week. Not that you ever need an excuse to drink, mind you, but it does justify it to people better when you have a legitimate reason and that you’re not just a lush.

So I’m running late and trekking over there through the biggest snowfall (which turned later into more of an ice-fall) in NY so far this year and get to the location that I had put in my PDA a month ago. There’s a narrow doorway with the correct address above it, but there is no one around, nor do I hear any people talking around the area. I’m thinking to myself “Is this one of those ‘uber-exclusive’ clubs that meet in non-descript locations that I keep hearing about? Well, that’s trendy.” I walk back and forth to confirm that the address is indeed correct. Two people come out of the locked door and I ask them “Is this where the Green Drinks meeting is?” She replies “Ummm….no. This is a residential building.” I’m flummoxed as I try to determine my next course of action. Luckily, I had the number of the location so I give them a call. They say that a lot of people had been coming by with the same problem, and the correct address is about one klick northeast of here, just off Houston St.

So half-a-mile later, I get to the correct place at the Boucarou Lounge (which I realized I had been to before for a birthday party a year ago), and walk into a throng of people (easily over 200), packed like sardines, all chatting away and seemingly having a good time. I pay my $10 cover/donation, write my name on a name tag, stick it over my heart and mosey over to the bar for my first drink. I make light conversation with whoever is around me, delicately balancing the topics of interest between city life, eco-awareness, and steering clear away from anything related to politics or religion. There’s no better way to ruin the mood than to butt heads with someone about who they should vote for (That’s a tip for you though, if you ever want to “ruin the mood”, although “I think my friend is looking for me” works too.) I met a few individuals of mention – a Go Green Expo business manager (think I’ll have to pass on the booth until next year, but I’ll definitely be there as a consumer), a soon-to-be restauranteur looking to build his first green restaurant, and a guy from treehugger.com. You know, Treehugger…they’re like the Gizmodo of Green! I think working there, and being at a green event, makes him the automatic pseudo-celebrity of the night. It’s like going to a National Lunchmeat Convention and having your name be Oscar or Meyer.

The most interesting people I met was a couple that had just bought a place in Harlem that they were renovating and making a green-certified 3 family condo. It was interesting to hear about all the criteria needed to have the building green-certified. Apparently, there’s 60 different criteria, ranging from disposal of building materials, to renewable bamboo floors, to window type, to lighting, that determine if you can get the green stamp of approval. All very interesting stuff. I read a little bit about that in the research that I had done, but it is pretty overwhelming the amount of information you need to know about it. He asked me about LEDs with the preconception that they’re not very bright (I dispel that myth on a daily basis) and was interested in seeing if they could be used for his house or a future project. They are looking for prospective buyers at the moment, so if you want a newly renovated green place in the city (which will no doubt save you a ton in energy costs), I can forward you their contact info. The other interesting thing about them is that they brought their daughter to the event as well (green family), and between the three of them – an architect, an author/photographer, and a graphic designer – they could start their own eco-design firm.

These are the things that I learned :

1. Wear a hat – If it’s snowing outside, and you’re going to be walking for an extended period, invest in some warm headgear lest you arrive at your destination with an ice helmet where your hair used to be.
2. The Green Drinks NYC chapter is the largest Green Drinks chapter in the U.S. Also, someone told me that the Xmas party had about 500 people. Yikes.
3. People are varied – there’s a lot of people, both interesting, and not so much that you will meet at a networking event. Filter out the wheat from the chaff.
4. Networking is fun – especially meeting people for new ideas and activities
5. Networking is hard – I thought i would talk to the whole room, or at least 50 people. I talked to probably about 10-12, and had a proper conversation with about 1/2 of them. There’s always next month.

Overall, I had an enjoyable time, traded someone an LED flashlight for a bag of granola, and met some interesting people. It was definitely not what I expected, but I think I will attend again next month.

Green Drinks is international, so I definitely recommend attending one in your area.