GreenBuildIndiana

Free Course to Provide an Overview of Green Careers

Many people want to be part of advancing sustainability but may not be sure of how to get started. Online instruction company EcoAchievers' business goals include spreading the word about green careers, and in line with that goal, a free course will be offered on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 6:15-8pm, at the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington, Indiana. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I am one of the principals of Eco Achievers and my husband is the instructor for the Green Careers course.) The course will:

• Provide an overview of the future of sustainability
• Discuss some of the many related career options in the area of sustainability
• Help attendees start to identify a role in the field

The course begins with a brief overview of sustainability, with special emphasis on its role in the business world today. A broad definition of green careers will be presented, along with an overview of the projected top careers in the green economy, and appropriate credentials associated with each. Transitioning existing jobs into green careers is also discussed. The program concludes with actionable steps you can take to move toward a successful green career.

The instructor for the course, David Gulyas, is a LEED Accredited Professional  who recently completed construction of his high-performance green-built home on Bloomington’s West Side.  He is on the Steering Committee of the USGBC’s So. Central Branch (Bloomington) and helped plan the first Green Building Tour of Bloomington.  David has presented in Bloomington on such topics as Guiding Principles of Green Interior Design, and the ReGreen program for Interior Design and Construction. As part of his work with EcoAchievers, LLC, he has developed online courses on topics such as Life Cycle Assessment and Harmonizing Historical Preservation and Green Building (in development).Before moving to Bloomington, David was an Interior Designer (ASID) in Oak Park, IL.

Pew Research Reports Green Jobs Grow Faster Despite Recession

The Pew Charitable Trusts has just published the first report on green energy jobs across the 50 states. The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America

"...despite a lack of sustained policy attention and investment, the emerging clean energy economy has grown considerably—extending to all 50 states, engaging a wide variety of workers and generating new industries. Between 1998 and 2007, its jobs grew at a faster rate than overall jobs. Like all other sectors, the clean energy economy has been hit by the recession, but investments in clean technology have fared far better in the past year than venture capital overall. Looking forward, the clean energy economy has tremendous potential for growth, as investments continue to flow from both the government and private sector and federal and state policy makers increasingly push for reforms that will both spur economic renewal and sustain the environment. By 2007, more than 68,200 businesses across all 50 states and the District of Columbia accounted for about 770,000 jobs that achieve the double bottom line of economic growth and environmental sustainability."

Imagine what we could do of we tried "sustained policy attention and investment".

California's Green Power Policies Created 1.5 Million Jobs

  An article in the New York Times  early this week quoted a recent study showing that California's energy-efficiency policies have created nearly 1.5 million jobs between 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000. Intriguingly, the study:

 "....conducted by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, found that while the state’s policies lowered employee compensation in the electric power industry by an estimated $1.6 billion over that period, it improved compensation in the state over all by $44.6 billion."

Better yet, the policies allowed customers to save money which they spent on other sectors of the economy.

“Consumers were able to reduce energy spending,” the study said, adding that “these savings were diverted to other demand.   When consumers shift one dollar of demand from electricity to groceries,” the report said, "they create jobs among retailers, wholesalers, food processors and other businesses."

So money and wealth formerly concentrated in the electricity sector -- centralized and controlled by big corporations -- was diverted to other sectors where perhaps consumers would prefer to spend their money, benefiting those sectors.    Hmmmm, sounds like wealth distribution to me.... and I say: Bring it on!    

Image Credit:  GreenPieceBlog

Wind Power Growth Creating Jobs in Gary Steel Mills

Demand for wind turbine parts made of steel has 220 workers at Gary, Indiana's ArcelorMittal steel plant busy, reports the Gary Post-Tribune.  Could years of negative job growth in Gary, Indiana be a thing of the past?  Maybe, if current trends continue.   

The recently passed extension of the renewable energy tax credits, which was bundled into the financial bailout bill, extended $18 billion + in tax credits for a wide variety renewable energy installations, from building and operating power plant, to giant wind turbines such as those pictured here, to small residential wind turbines and solar panels.

"The generation of renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing industries worldwide. In the United States, it's growing more than anywhere worldwide," said David Foster, executive director of the Blue-Green Alliance, a collaboration between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club. "Steel is an absolutely integral material for the transition to a low-carbon economy."   --Gary Post-Tribune, 10/01/08

The partnership between the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club (did you ever imagine these two groups would unite behind a common cause?) means to accelerate green job growth in NW Indiana.  The coalition wants to make it clear that "the choice between jobs and the environment is a phony choice...We can have both," says Jim Robinson, Director of USW District 7. 

Gary is well-placed to take advantage of the booming demand for wind turbine parts.  It is well-located, with a huge rail and road transportation hub nearby, and vast amounts of Great Lakes water.   In spite of the financial mess that we've lived through in the past few months, which is far from over, is at least the hope that we can begin transitioning to non-carbon-based forms of energy.