Green Jobs

Green Jobs and One Cool Sustainable Skateboard Company

akronheim — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Have you heard about a sustainable skateboarding company in Ithaca, NY, called Comet Skateboards. This company uses materials for the board and adhesives that can be grown in a year, locally, sustainably, and safely. I read about it recently in an article my fellow Ithaca College (IC) senior, Michael Berlin, wrote "Sustainable Punk," which has appeared in The Nation, Campus Progress, and IC's own alternative magazine, Buzzsaw Haircut.

Not only does the CEO of Comet Skateboards, Jason Salfi, worry about profit, but about the environment and keeping the local economy of Ithaca intact; instead of "Sucking from the oil nipple..." because that "...isn't going to help anything," said Salfi. "Having a bio-based solution that isn't influenced by a crazy geopolitical climate is a good solution."

In Berlin's article, he also talks about green jobs. He explains also that congress worked on green-blue collar jobs in the Green Jobs Act of 2007 to appropriate $125 million for new green job training and implementation. But that's not going to make enough of an impact because we need white-green collar jobs too. We will need them for the people who get the new training and for people already in white collar work that need a push in the green direction.

If you google: Green Jobs, you'll find about 6,930,000 hits and many opportunities that I am sure could be great for you. It's a start, but that's not enough. Legislators need to step it up and make more blue and white green collar jobs ASAP because the climate crisis and many eco-systems on the planet really are in their 11th Hour.

The presidential candidates have promised things along these lines. Hillary has promised at least 5 million new green jobs by 2050 and Barack has promised similar goals and will need those jobs for all of his other energy promises. John has promised dramatically less money than the Democratic candidates towards green research and implementation, but still discusses green jobs.

Law makers and small business owners alike need to be part of this journey towards environmental justice with green jobs in the white and blue sector in order to combat climate change. Well done Berlin, more education about this will put us that much closer to the solution.

Top 10 Signs You Don’t Have a Green Job

kbutler — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:04:58 -0400

Sure, it is a bad job market out there and some of us are eager for work. But if any of the following sound familiar to you, you might want to reconfigure the resume. Or call Greenpeace to see if they are hiring.

TOP TEN SIGNS YOU DON’T HAVE A GREEN JOB

10. You fall asleep on the job and people in hazmat suits wake you up.

9. Interviewer asks if you can type, get coffee, and resist toxic waste.

8. You’re paid in baby seal pelts.

7. You take a lot of “before” photographs that involved undeveloped land and happy, frolicking wildlife.

6. There’s a sign at the office that reads “EPA Superfund Site.”

5. You discover your boss can cough up tar, and he’s not a smoker.

4. You become convinced that the office plants are glaring at you.

3. Your job description includes the letters “FEMA.”

2. You’re required to screen all visitors for hidden cameras and 20/20's John Quinones.

1. At the end of the day, you glow.

Top 10 Green Jobs

Julia — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

The following list comes from E Magazine’s article called “Ten Great Green Opportunities”, where they came up with a list of professions that are ready and waiting to be all greened up. Something catches your eye? Well jump right in and start creating new policies for the field!

1. Travel and Hospitality- Tourism is the largest business sector in the world economy. Ecotourism is growing at three times the rate of the tourism sector itself, and demanding more knowledgeable workers committed to sustainability.

2. Planning and Land Use- Local governments are increasingly interested in how they can reduce their communities’ carbon footprint, and turning to city planning professionals for direction.

3. Health and Medicine- According to a survey conducted in 2002 by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), 36 percent of U.S. adults use some form of alternative care.

4. Energy and Renewables- Renewable energy careers have the potential to re-establish America’s lost middle class. Renewable energy requires more manpower than fossil fuel—wind power creates 2.77 jobs for every megawatt produced, solar PV creates 7.24 jobs per megawatt.

5. Legal Careers- When a power plant is polluting more than its fair share, or an imperiled mammal needs recognition under the Endangered Species Act, environmental law groups go to court and fight the good fight.

6. Information Technology- In the nonprofit sector, IT work may not require extensive training. For global organizations like the Internet is a valuable tool. Be open to starting with little to no pay. It will give you the experience you need to be able to be hired by those few organizations and businesses that can afford to provide the salary that you want.

7. Green Learning- Over the past few years, sustainability coordinators—a job position that didn’t even exist a few years ago—have been joining the ranks of educational institutions looking to “go green.” Though there aren’t many schools offering degrees in sustainability, that’s beginning to change.

8. Design and Construction- Green builders already have a competitive advantage over traditional builders, according to Ashley Katz, communications coordinator for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). And that advantage will continue to grow as sustainable, energy-efficient building practices become the norm.

9. Corporate Social Responsibility- With companies working to establish guidelines for social responsibility, the word “corporation” could sill take on new meaning in the 21st century. To make corporations more responsive to environmental, human rights and health issues, corporate responsibility advocates start from business’ bottom line and work their way up.

10. Food and Farming- According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, land used for organic crops increased from 48,000 acres in 1997 to 122,000 acres in 2005. That increase has opened doors, especially for students seeking a hands-on experience on a working farm. Some manage organic farms without actually owning the land, leasing it through a land trust. And the market for organic food has opened channels well beyond the local farm stands.

Green Building Link Love

jchait — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

It's been a busy week - lots of cool new green building news and posts around the web and blogosphere. Let's see what some other green folks have been up to...

Of course the biggest news around town is that the HGTV Green Home 2008 contest finally kicked off - I'm so curious about how many entries they're going to get. It's going to be insane. If you missed this news entirely read: New HGTV Eco Home Television Special.

Mother Earth News has a great article about Wild Rose Timber Framers - at first, of course you may be thinking, "WOOD! That's not as sustainable as other material. However, Wild Rose offsets that with their methods and attitudes - go learn how.

You have to go see 10 Amazing Tree Houses from Around the World at WebUrbanist - many sustainable and unique designs.

In sort of bizarre news, the USAF has plans to go off-grid with Nuclear power. Rumors about the future of off-grid energy for all (including residential) abound. We'll see.

Terrapin Ridge, a brand new green housing community of 85 Energy Star homes in Greensboro, NC is launching. Which of course is better news if you're looking to build in NC, however, it's always good news to hear that entire communities will be built around green methods. Hopefully more to come.

Just a couple of hours a cool article about one super green building popped up - some great info is included about the newer composting toilets.

Right here at RiverWired we've got some awesome posts too. Not everyone is posting about building, but they are posting green. Check out:

Top 10 Recycling Resources

Can You Make Overconsumption Look Good?

Green Celebrity Round Up

Want to Recycle Your Running Shoes?

Green Jobs!

And so ends our weekly link love - I hope you all had a fab Easter your friends and family.

Obama's Energy Corps

akronheim — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:25:08 -0500

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.