Searching for Green Jobs

    

I walked upstairs today and found my son replacing a burnt out light bulb. 

    

This blog post could end right here – the fact that I found one of my kids doing work around the house seems impressive and noteworthy enough.  But he was on a mission.  He wanted to replace it with a low energy CFL bulb. 

    

It appears that he is not alone in his quest to do what is right for the environment.  While researching vacation plans this last week, I read a blog post by Thomas Berger about Travelocity’s Green Directory.  “There are about 250 hotels on the list”, reports Berger, “including some affordable chain options like Fairfield Inns, so being green need not be just for the well-off.  If you’re interested in making your travels a little greener, Travelocity might be able to help you out.”

    

The public’s awareness of environmental issues continues to grow.  On March 28^th we will all have the opportunity to participate in another Earth Hour where the aim is to “reach more than one billion people in 1,000 cities around the world, inviting communities, business and governments to switch off lights for one hour”.  Soon after that, we will be celebrating our 39^th annual Earth Day on April 22^nd.

    

    

    

    

With this increased awareness comes an increased demand for environmentally responsible products and services and the Federal government hopes to help with the upcoming stimulus package.  “To accelerate the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy like wind, solar, and biofuels over the next three years”, stated President Obama in his first weekly address today.  “We’ll begin to build a new electricity grid that lay down more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines to convey this new energy from coast to coast. We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient, and save the average working family $350 on their energy bills by weatherizing 2.5 million homes.”

    

Ambitious plans, and some say, plans that can’t start soon enough.  “Unless quick action is taken, the U.S. risks losing millions of green jobs to other nations that offer a more serious and sustained commitment to growing its green economy”, fears Neal Lurie.  “For the U.S. to be competitive in a carbon-constrained world, the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries must be a critical economic driver.”  

         

It’s time to change the economy, one light bulb at a time.

    

Until next time,

    

Dan

    

    

    

Comments

[Lauren]

Hi Dan - I'm located in Paris right now and I'm amazed by some of the things that the Europeans are doing that the Americans don't do - things as simple as hallway lights that only go on when you press a button-- then they only stay on for 5 minutes before they turn off. Can you imagine how much power we would save if every office / residential building in Manhattan made that simple change?

[Arup Deb]

Dan, I find the post impressive. However, I would like to add a few things here. All green programs apart, the world needs to unite against the menace of global warming. It has evolved into unmanageable proportions and further sidetracking of the issue, may put the entire world into a major risk of future existence. And, offcourse there is the added advantage of getting the much desired greenbacks, by greening the earth. Let us do it, irrespective of where we are located.

Cheers!

[Howard]

Great blog, Dan, and I totally agree. I'm a bit concerned about Obama's claim, only because I visited the National Renewable Energy Lab in November (hidden almost as much as Cheney's bunker during the past 8 years). They said that the problem with renewable energy is the most solar access, wind, and some other sources are in the west. The majority of needs are in the east (and midwest). So being able to implement and transfer this energy is the big trick But good for your son, and as you say, all it takes is one step at a time. Thanks for writing!