Green Education Prospectus
Green Job Growth
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009, based on the National Establishment Time Series Database; analysis by Pew Center on the States and Collaborative Economics.
Green Job Distribution
Source: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2009, based on the National Establishment Time Series Database; analysis by Pew Center on the States and Collaborative Economics.
Tag Archives: eco friendly
Corporations Moving Toward the Use of 100% Renewable Energy
The use of renewable energy has passed a critical threshold with companies aiming toward making the transition to the use of 100% renewable energy. Environmentalists, ecosystem advocacy groups and the blossoming wind and solar industries are on board pushing for the exclusive use of renewable energy wherever possible.
From a technical standpoint it is seen as being a realistic goal through the use of the Cradle to Cradle principle. The Cradle to Cradle principal entails the use of 100% renewable energy while maximizing an organization’s environmental, social and economic impacts. Cradle to Cradle is a holistic, economic, industrial and social framework that seeks to create systems that are not just efficient but fundamentally waste free. It moves beyond traditional sustainability goals of only reducing negative impacts to instead creating a wholly positive or beneficial mark on the planet.
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Posted in Green, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living, Wind Energy, green education
Tagged carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, clean energy, cradle to cradle principle, eco friendly, electricity, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environment, renewable energy, renewable energy companies, steelcase, wind energy
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“Carboholics” (Carbon-Loving) US & China are Unlikely Marriage for Energy Efficiency Project
The saying “two heads are better than one” comes to mind when trying to work through a particularly difficult crossword puzzle; but how universal is this old adage? Are say, two countries better than one? Our leadership seems to be hedging their bets towards the conclusion that this is in fact the case. In line with this spirit of collaboration comes the latest in a series of interesting (and sometimes unlikely) pairings in the environmental research and development field. Berkeley Lab has been chosen to lead a cooperative US-China project called the Clean Energy Resource Center (CERC).
The project was conceived in 2009, beginning with a meeting between United States President Barack Obama and President Hun Jintao of China. The meeting was held in Beijing to establish a basis for the cooperative effort, which will work to develop efficient energy-saving buildings and cost-effective / waste reducing construction processes in the next five years. It is a dubious mating for the more cynical among us, especially considering the United States’ seemingly uncontrollable construction fetish (for wastefully assembled “throwaway buildings” which are simply replaced every 10 or 15 years or whenever they go out of style) and China’s love for all things carbon (if you recall the vicious smog that threatened the health of Olympic Athletes during the Beijing Summer Games and the mysterious “air scrubbers” that the Chinese government was supposedly using to keep the rampant pollution under control). Continue reading
Posted in Green, Green Government, Sustainable Living
Tagged berkely lab, california, carbon dioxide emissions, carbon emissions, china, clean energy resource center, eco friendly, electricity, energy, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environment, hun jintao, obama, sustainability
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Plumbing is SO Last Season: New Water Generator Pulls Water From Thin Air
The quest for a clean and pure drinking water is a worldwide concern and finding better ways of addressing the need for safe drinking water is a task that scientists have struggled with for many years. Now, it seems that an important piece of the puzzle has presented itself quite literally “out of thin air.” It’s called the Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) and it has just entered production by Florida, USA based WaterPure technologies.
Basically, the AWG is a technological response to what is fast becoming a global water crisis. The need to provide safe and clean drinking water is essential to survival. Not only because of the simple fact that human beings need water to live, but because water-borne pathogens are among the most common causes of serious illness worldwide. The problem is that in many parts of the world the water supply is minimal and commonly the quality of available water is continually degrading due to varying reasons, including environmental shift, industrial contamination and contagious disease. Because of these common risk factors associated with native ground water supplies, the AWG presents a significant advantage in comparison with competing filtration and purification technologies that require the use of standing water, since the AWG device is used to instead extract water from the atmosphere. Continue reading
Important Trends in Alternative Energy
Breakdown Of Alternative Energy Use in the US
Recently, the U.S. Energy Information Administration released their most recent report regarding the consumption of alternative energy in the United States. While the nation’s complete dependence on fossil fuels is readily apparent in the report, there are signs of progress as well. Nationwide, renewable energy sources accounted for over 7% of the total energy consumption. Within that 7% the main type of renewable energy that was consumed was biomass, meaning the burning of fuels produced from renewable sources such as ethanol production and biodiesel accounting for 52% of the total renewable energy consumed. The biomass sector has seen substantial growth, more than doubling its market share in the period between 2004-2008. The second leading source of renewable energy consumed was hydroelectric power which accounted for 34%. Hydroelectric energy production has remained steady (with minor fluctuations due to water levels) at between 2.2 and 3.6 quadrillion Btu/yr for about 20 years. The leading states as far as hydroelectric power generation were Washington, Oregon, New York, California, Montana and Idaho, although there was some growth in Alabama, Arkansas and New York. Since plans for the construction of new dams is limited, it can be expected that these figures will continue basically unchanged.
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Posted in Green, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living, Wind Energy
Tagged alta wind energy center, american recovery and reinvestment act, california, clean energy, clean energy jobs, eco friendly, electricity, future of energy investment, renewable energy, solar, solar energy, solar panels, solar power, sustainability, types of renewable energy, wind energy, wind turbines
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Managing Green Job Training
Government support of green-collar
It looks like the traditional workforce classifications of white / blue collar have a new companion that is here to stay: green collar jobs. Two decades ago, energy conservation and renewable energy programs in their infancy struggled with instability as well as a lack of public and economic support. However as the new millennium has unfolded it has served up consumers with a bitter cocktail of rising fuel and energy costs, increasing limitations on access to energy, steady tax hikes and continuingly dire predictions about the future of our planet’s environment should we continue down this road. With these factors serving as constant reminders of the importance of saving energy, consumer awareness of the efficiency and renewable “green” energy sectors is higher now than it has ever been. Thanks in part to that heightened awareness, in the next decade it is expected that we will see a up to a 400% increase in the eco-related green jobs market.
In anticipation of the growth in the sector, the government has funded $500 million to boost green jobs-related training focused on energy conservation and natural resources preservation. Graduate training has also begun to shift its focus from pure academics to more utilitarian leadership roles in applied sciences; particularly on energy conservation programs, environmental management, and planning.
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Clinton Global Initiative Reveals High Hopes for Green Jobs
At the recent Clinton Global Initiative conference held in New York Last week, a variety of different topics were discussed. Among the hottest topics: Green Jobs and the growth of the green economy. The Clinton Global Initiative describes itself as:
“…a meeting of innovative, action-oriented, and socially responsible leaders in the world. The Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting brings together heads of state, government and business leaders, scholars, and NGO directors. Participants analyze pressing global challenges, discuss the most effective solutions, and build lasting partnerships that enable them to create positive social change.”
That being said, it should be encouraging that green development and the green economy were one topic that was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. According to leaders at the conference, the green sector is the shining light amidst an otherwise gloomy outlook.
Posted in Green, Green Collar, Green Government, Renewable Energy, Solar Energy, Sustainable Living, Wind Energy
Tagged clean energy, clean energy jobs, eco friendly, employment, environment, green, green collar, green collar jobs, green economy, green energy, green jobs, obama, recovery act
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Top 5 Green Apps for iPhone and Android
These days our phones are so much more than just simple communication devices. They are our lifelines, and they also provide us with help on things that many people would never imagine a phone can do. Like going green; your smartphone can do just that. Dozens of applications have been created that can help you with going green at home and elsewhere. Here are a sampling of a few of Eco Institution’s favorite green apps and their uses.
Carbon Meter – The carbon meter by ViralMesh helps you track and log your eco-friendly activities like walking or biking instead of driving as well as the amount of Co2 emissions you save because of it. The savings are deposited in the program’s EcoBank so that you can keep track. There are also specials or discounts available from ViralMesh’s green partners as your carbon savings stack up. Continue reading
Posted in Car, Green
Tagged android, carbon emissions, eco friendly, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environment, green, green living, htc, iphone, smartphone, sustainability, sustainable living
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Baby Boomers Join Green Collar Workforce
Increasingly, Baby Boomers considering delayed retirement are joining the green collar workforce. The 79 million baby boomers currently nearing retirement age are increasingly moving towards the green sector to take advantage of the opportunities it affords. The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in June 2010 and found that 60 percent of adults ages 50-61 are planning to put off retirement due to the recession. In addition, 35 percent of individuals 62 years and older reported that they’ve already postponed retirement. Current unemployment figures paint a picture that is discouraging for all workers; however the green sector has proven to be very recession resistant in part due to massive government subsidies supporting the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries. These include a variety of corporate exemptions, tax credits, grants and loans for the solar and wind power industries as well as funds allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earmarked for retrofit and energy efficiency programs.
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Posted in Green, Green Collar
Tagged american recovery and reinvestment act, Baby Boomers, clean energy jobs, eco friendly, Ecological certification, energy conservation, environmental careers, Environmental Consultants, green building consulting, green certification, green jobs, home based business, sustainable living
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Obama Pledges Clean Energy Policy to Create 800,000 Jobs by 2012
In a speech given during a visit to a Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin battery plant on Monday, President Barack Obama predicted that the nation’s manufacturing and industry would be a primary source of economic growth and that the policies his administration is putting in place would create 800,000 jobs in the next two years.
“Our commitment to clean energy … [is] going to help lay the foundation for lasting economic growth,” Obama proclaimed at Wisconsin-based ZBB Energy’s main facility [AMEX: ZBB]. The Company designs, develops, manufactures and distributes energy storage systems and solutions based on their zinc-bromine rechargeable electrical energy storage and power management technologies.
The president also targeted Republicans for stymieing the Democrats’ policies in Congress. Attempting to pin the tail of economic woe on the GOP, he claimed that the party has “made the political calculation that it’s better to stand on the sidelines than work as a team to help American businesses and American workers.”
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New Contract for Lime Energy Places Company at Head of Green Collar Field
Lime Energy has positioned itself as one of the leaders in the green collar field of Eco Consulting and retrofit. Based in Chicago, Illinois, Lime Energy [Nasdaq: LIME] has a stated mission of improving physical environments where people live, work and play; delivering superior financial health for energy consumers; and purifying the natural environment. Furthermore, Lime Energy describes itself as being devoted to leading an energy efficiency movement by offering excellent service towards their customers, shareholders and all the other communities.
Through the company’s energy efficiency solutions, “clients can spend dramatically less on energy and building operations”. Thus, clients will be producing less waste, promoting a cleaner natural environment and living in a more comfortable and productive physical environment. Since clients are able to save money on energy, clients can invest in other opportunities which would foster a more productive business.
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Posted in Green, Green Collar, Sustainable Living
Tagged baltimore, Chicago, eco friendly, energy, energy efficiency solutions, energy solutions, environment, fire stations, Illinois, innovative water solutions, johnson controls, lime energy, maryland, natural environment, rainwater catchment, sustainability, thermal energy, water
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