Green Jobs: How to make a buck Green Jobs: How to make a buck and do your partand do your part

• What is a Green Job?• What is the “Green

Collar” Economy?• Who can do these

kinds of jobs?• What will these jobs

pay?• Where do I sign up?

What is a Green Job?What is a Green Job?

• We all have a sense of what this means• My idea is that it’s a job that makes a positive

contribution to the sustainability of human existence on the planet

• Remember: the Earth is almost 5 billion years old. It was around before us, and it will be around after us

• We don’t need to protect the Earth, we need to protect ourselves

Examples of Green JobsExamples of Green Jobs

• Public Transit Workers

• Solar Electrical Contractors

• Climatologists/Hydrologists

• Wind Turbine Manufacturing

• Bicycle Mechanic

• Environmental Resource Management

• Urban Farmer / Sustainable Farmer

What is this “Green Collar” What is this “Green Collar” Economy?Economy?

• “The main piece of technology in the green economy is a caulk gun”

• “Think of Joe Sixpack, sleeves rolled up, going off to fix America”

• “Green collar job strategies provide opportunities for low-income people to [move] to self-sufficiency”

Going Green is America’s Best Going Green is America’s Best Hope Hope

• We need to change our energy system• Continued burning fossil fuels will eventually

make the planet inhospitable to humans• Creating a new energy economy will require

Trillions in new investment.• The dirty secret is that ANY energy future

requires that level of investment• So, why not invest in a clean energy future at a

rapid pace – solve two problems with one approach

What does Van Jones have to say?What does Van Jones have to say?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SmF3B3734E

• He suggests that we can solve our persistent problem of social inequity by training the people who need good jobs to do the work we need to do to stop global warming

• Bring Environmental Justice along with economic recovery and a conversion of our energy system

Who can do these kinds of jobs?Who can do these kinds of jobs?

• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7686031155306582056&ei=wbAgSoCPKYz-rgKEv5n3Cg&q=installing++solar+panels&hl=en

• People who aren’t afraid of heights!!

What education do you need?What education do you need?

• Advanced skills are needed, but not advanced degrees

• Training programs not necessarily university programs

• Technical schools and community colleges can educate the green collar worker, at low cost and high return

And what will you get?And what will you get?

• A Healthier Planet• Environmental Justice• A Strong Economy• More income equality• Health care for all• A living wage for each family man and

woman who wants it• YES WE CAN!!

This is the Change We Need!!This is the Change We Need!!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwaGWP_xvQ8

• We have gone from an administration that denied scientific evidence and tried to pretend global warming does not not exist

• To an administration that is committed to

fighting climate change and becoming all the stronger for it

How do I get a identify and green How do I get a identify and green collar job?collar job?

• Again – Van Jones:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjOS7QYCMZ8

And how can I find a green job?And how can I find a green job?

• Try the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia

• http://www.sbnphiladelphia.org/

• And, the STEM center for education at DCCC

• http://www.dccc.edu/stem/overview.html

Thanks for coming to the PWGWC!Thanks for coming to the PWGWC!

• Please stick around for lunch and the other events

• Please thank the students before you leave – They did a lot of work to make this happen