BILLY: The green revolution kidnapped one of the nicest guys we know. How can you sleep at night?

GREG: Whoa, turns out the guy you're referring to – Chad Colwell – was a willing participant. We tracked him down to explain his sudden disappearance. Concerned citizens, meet the advertising ace who went green ...

BILLY: Chad, you're one of the most talented graphic designers we know. But seems like that's just not enough for you. Now, you've gotten way into solar power?

CHAD: About a year ago, while working as a designer at a local communications firm, I began to feel like what I was doing wasn't really helping anyone but myself, the client and the firm. There had to be something more. I felt like I just really needed to be part of something WAY bigger than me. Something that would not only benefit me, but everyone worldwide and the inhabitants of this planet for generations to come....

BILLY: We can't resist – we love to walk the tightrope.

GREG: If you're talking about my little "incident," it was the result of hitting the watering hole too soon after seeing the circus. And it was years ago ... or at least weeks.

BILLY: I'm talking about all of us – teeming humanity! – and how we back ourselves into spectacular, high stakes situations that require amazing balance ... or else.

GREG: Gotcha, and this tightrope walk is your 'high' falutin metaphor for growth and sustainability. And how if we don't focus, we could all totter right off the rope. This related to the recent Reality Check summit.

BILLY: Exactly. Reality Check brought together people from 15 counties (that's bigger than your last house party!) to figure out how to live and...

BILLY: I love a good old-school 'greatest hits' package, so let's click off memorable moments from last week's Emerging Issues Forum – from where we live to how we move to what keeps us on top for the next hundred years ...

GREG: You mean that Olympic test of Marathon Mind Melding and Networking? The event drew together hundreds of people integral to figuring out how we fix up our communities and plan well for a cloudy future. A workout for my hand shake and my hand sanitizer, Remi-D!

BILLY: I was struck by Rep. Heath Shuler (go 'Skins) recalling a visit to an alternative energy site in Texas where he marveled – not in a good way – that the component parts all came from overseas. Come on, America, let's get crankin'!

GREG: What about Ken Livingstone, former Mayor of London, telling that great...

Greg: Knock. Knock.

Billy: Who's there?

Greg: A federal stimulus.

Billy: Well, come right in, sir! You are more than welcome here!

Greg: That's not how the joke goes.

Billy: Yeah, but who is going to turn down stimulus money to get this economy going again?

Greg: There wasn't much joking this week at the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association's "Making Energy Work" conference at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Billy: And, for good reason. Now's the time to put our collective green heads together to come up with plans...

BILLY: I'm so inspired by the inauguration, I want to get to work! On something important! Just like the prez!

GREG: Well, there's that compost pile I've been offering to help you create.

BILLY: Actually thinking less compost, more connections ... with smart, motivated folks and a topic like renewable energy. On Feb. 3, the NC Sustainable Energy Association invites one and all to a conference called "Making Energy Work: Building a Sustainable Energy Economy in the Southeast." Hundreds of folks are coming with big ideas. (Check out N.C. Sustainable Energy) I'm hopeful I'll even comprehend a few of them!

GREG: I'm down with that. But if you miss it or want something a little different but still sustainable, jump all over the Institute for Emerging Issues' two day extravaganza, Feb. 9-10, "Changing...