Green Jobs Now

While it may not always be easy to be green, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is hard.  Counter-intuitive much?  What I mean by that statement is that being truly green is not something a "lazy environmentalist" can do.  A "lazy environmentalist" can do the absolute minimal amount in order to label themselves "green".  I would label them something else:  lazy.

I'll call this the "lazy environmentalist syndrome":  The belief that because "green" has become the label-du-jour that it must be simple to obtain.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the wording of our politicians.  "Green jobs!" is almost as pervasive in modern political lexicon as "slumping economy" or "high mileage cars".

But will "green jobs" be easy to obtain?

That was the topic of an article from Outside Magazine's June edition titled, "Earth Is Hiring" by Elizabeth Hightower (she wrote another article I commented on in a February blog, back in Outside's March edition).  The main point of the article is that while green-jobs will be a growing economic sector, the label "green" doesn't mean "non-skilled".

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will provide $500 million for green-jobs training.  Many of the clean energy jobs are fairly technical: installing and maintaining wind-turbines, building solar power plants, home and building weatherization.  While weatherization sounds fairly simple, it still requires some basic carpentry skills and understanding of the basics of home energy; like which insulation is best or low-e windows.  Wind and Solar require knowing the basic fundamentals of electricity, like what is a kWh?

Green jobs are coming, but they will require skill.  If you want one of these jobs read MapAWatt blog, buy books on energy (I recommend End of Oil to get a basic understanding of the macro picture and Home Energy Diet to see how you can apply conservation principles to your own home) and do all you can to learn about energy and water production and conservation!  Find a University, technical college, or community college that has a program focusing on green jobs.  You are never too old to learn a new skill.

Being Green is not that hard, it just requires more than lazy.

The Outside article (it is also a great issue with several conservation topics) also listed several links for those interested in finding Green Jobs.  These are listed below:

Big Picture

Careervoyages.gov - Federal Governments site

eere.energy.gov/education/careers.html

Energy Efficiency

BPI.org - Building Performance Institute

USGBC - LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) - a must have for a green-building career

Solar and Wind

ases.org - American Solar Energy Society

awea.org - American Wind Energy Association

Training Programs

irecusa.org - Interstate Renewable Energy Council

eere.energy.gov/education/adult_education.html

(one I found when looking for this post's picture)

http://veteransgreenjobs.org/ - training and green jobs for Veterans

If you're a veteran and need some help on your resume and a green job, you may want to check out Veteran Education and Accredited Online Colleges.