Sustainable Ideas...

During the week of April 21-25, the Ithaca College Environmental Society (ICES) is planning a ton of events to celebrate Earth Day. We are hosting The 11th Hour filmmakers to screen their documentary, Bill Richardson, a director of GreenpeaceUSA, author Benjamin Dangl to discuss his book The Price of Fire: Resource Wars and Social Movements in Bolivia. We were going to have a Green Jobs Fair, but alas, there was no available space that week on our campus! April is so busy!

So, we decided to get together with Career Services to be a part of their Job and Internship Fair on April 1-2. It's a good thing; April is turning into Earth Month because it cannot all be contained in one day. So, we are looking to contact the local organizations and larger non-profit environmental groups to come and be a part of the Fair. Not only strictly environmental organizations, but companies that are working to change their impact on the planet and contribute to the idea of sustainability. Maybe we should also ask Obama if he wants to come to the Job Fair because in December of last year he called for more people to take part in national service. An MSNBC article stated that Obama plans on "reaching out to seniors and college students through part-time and full time service programs, Obama called for a classroom corps and an energy corps; doubling the Peace Corps; and creating incentives to volunteer (through things like tax credits)."

Obama already has so much of the young vote, and I think if he came to our Job Fair and maybe even other school's similar events, he would completely win over the college vote if he really outlined an energy corps like that. If the energy corps he's talking about is the energy corps I think he's talking about, it would revolutionize the country; seriously. If it was a program to volunteer your time (for tax credits or a stipend of some kind) to work for the alternative energy sector, we would be that much closer to facing the wrath of climate change. But, I think we are moving in the right direction with programs and jobs like this. When I do Green Corps next year, I'll be doing my part in this fight as will many other recent college graduates, and I'll get paid to do it.

But what do I tell the rest of my friends that are also college seniors and don't have jobs yet and have to pay off serious college loans? Everyone is dying to get a job after graduation; they need reassurance! I should tell them that Obama has a plan for an energy corps and he's going to come and talk about it at our school (come on, Obama!) Or I could tell them that there is so much potential for Green Jobs even in upper level positions, as mentioned in the Think Green Media Blog, that there is nothing to worry about. Or, I could send them to the Ithaca College Job Fair April 1-2 and many recruiters will be there as alternatives to the unsustainable, corporate, cubical world; many companies even dedicated to sustainability and activist work. Do you work for a Green group or company like that? Let me know and maybe you can come and recruit the countless number of college seniors that need something to do next year.