Have you ever wanted to meet and network with local fellow greenies over a good brew? Then get thee to your next local Green Drinks! A self-described, “Organic, self-organizing network,” Green Drinks International is an informal monthly gathering that takes place all over the world for any and all interested in local happenings connected to the environment.

Since moving to the Bay Area, attending Green Drinks has been on the top of my to-do list. So last Wednesday, I high-tailed it over to the Triple Rock Brewery in Berkeley to see what the buzz was all about.

Once inside, I met up with Green Options’ CEO David Anderson, who introduced me to a group of solar installers from Berkeley’s own Borrego Solar. When I worked for a green architect in Berkeley last summer, I would bike past Borrego Solar every day and wistfully imagine meeting up with those inside to discuss how they were changing the world. Now here I was, standing face-to-face with these very people, chatting the green chat over a delicious pint of IPA.

Upstairs on the roofdeck, I ran into some friends from the Oakland Ecovillage, where I caught up on the latest with the solar hot tub installation (which you may remember from my first Green Options post on the February 5th launch). Through them, I met the folks from spaceshare.com (providing carpooling networks to green events and festivals), stopwaste.org (reducing the waste stream for Alameda County), and even a co-sponsor of the event from EcoHome Improvement (www.ecohomeimprovement.com).

Looking at the crowd around me, I suddenly realized I had arrived full swing into Berkeley’s green scene… and it was through Green Drinks! In a mere two-hour span of time, I was able to manifest all sorts of green connections, from old friends to new acquaintances, I even managed to line up some options for future green involvement… all for the price of one drink! If you’d like to check out the green scene your hometown or even during your next trip to Italy, please visit www.greendrinks.org.