Green Economy | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

The 3 Green Job Conversations

By Mark_Gragg on October 27, 2009 3 Comments blue collar, building sustainability, carbon sector, energy, energy-efficient, entrepreneurial, environmental engineering, environmental justice, green collar job, green economy, green jobs, hype, job seekers, light green collar, managerial, manufacturing sectors, retrofitting, sales, solar panels, solar;, supply chains, sustainable careers, water technologies, wind, wind farms

I see three green job conversations going on right now in the country, which causes confusion for most job seekers. I first must caution to watch out for all of the hype.

Jump Start Your Green Career 6-Week Teleclass Workshop Starts Soon

By Tracey de Morsella on October 23, 2009 2 Comments Carol McClelland, green career, green economy, Teleclass Workshop

Our partner, Green Career Central, is offering opportunity to shorten your path to your green career. This 6-Week Teleclass Workshop, facilitated by Carol McClelland and her team of career coaches, begins November 3rd. Through a collection of personal exercises and group activities you will gain a clear focus that guides your choices and actions regarding your green career search.

Sustainability, Its More than Just a Pretty Face

By Chris de Morsella on October 20, 2009 1 Comment bottom line, corporate good will, corporate sustainability, energy efficiency, environmental movement, environmentalism, green economy, re-cycling, resource efficiency, return on investment, ROI, sustainability, sustainable manufacturing, sustainable practice, sustainable product development, sustainable supply chain

The movement to adopt sustainability practices in the corporate world can trace its roots back to the environmental movement; however it is not just a synonym for or re-branding of environmentalism. Sustainability is best understood as being its own thing; grasped in its own terms. What sets it apart is the growing realization within the executive decision making centers of corporations, governmental, educational and other organizational bodies across the world is that there is a powerful win-win dynamic that can be harnessed by adopting sustainable practices and that sustainability is not a zero sum game with winners and losers. The public wins, the environment wins, those cute animals win, but shareholders also win as well because sustainability makes excellent sense purely from a bottom line perspective.

The ROI of Going Green: A CEO’s Rationale for Adopting Sustainability

By Anna Clark on October 19, 2009 2 Comments American Bar Association, Anna Clark, Aspen, Aspen Ski Company, Bank of America, business sustainability, California, cleantech, Climate Change, Colorado, community sustainability initiative, corporate culture, Dallas, EarthPeople, energy conservation, energy efficiency, environmental regulation, EPA, Gardere, green economy, green lending, green power, renewable energy, ROI, ROI of going green, San Diego, supply chain Sustainability, sustainability consulting, sustainable harvesting, Texas

If you think your business is too small or too service-based to benefit from going green, or you’re waiting for the hype about green and sustainability to die down, then you’re missing an opportunity to chart an upward course for your company.

More Jobs Require Green Skills or a Green Mind-set

By Adam_Ney on September 23, 2009 1 Comment energy, environmental engineers, green brand, green economy, green jobs, green products, infrastructure, stimulus, sustainability, weatherization

For over four years, I’ve monitored and posted positions that were either hard-core green jobs such as energy or environmental engineers, jobs that had a tint of green to them like a carpenter with a PV installer’s license or positions at companies with a strong record of sustainability such as a human resources opening at UTC Power. More often than not, the positions that were advertised did not emphasize the position’s green attributes. However recently, I have noticed that businesses and non-profits too, are now listing positions with some green requirements. I believe this is a result of several factors.

Distributed Energy Generation, a Green Economy Paradigm

By Chris de Morsella on September 17, 2009 24 Comments alternative energy, American Wind Energy Association, Arizona, AWEA, AZ, blackouts, brownouts, co-generation, coal, distributed energy generation, emergency power, Fuel Cells, gigawatt, green economy, green economy paradigm, line loss, micro-turbines, micro-wind, national security, peak demand, Peoria, photovoltaic, Pike Research, power transmission, Sandia National Laboratories, Scottsdale, small scale wind, smart grid, solar power, solar PV, solar thermal, Sterling Energy Systems, SunCatcher, Tessera Solar, thermoelectric, wind

Distributed energy systems can range from the micro sized do it yourself systems being installed on rooftops and on hilltops to small scale systems ranging up to around 20MW (megawatts) of capacity, although it must be understood that this is a pretty fuzzy boundary. The defining characteristic of distributed energy systems is that they generate energy close to the point of use where that energy will be consumed; hence the admittedly fuzzy 20MW upper boundary for their size.

How Solar Power Can Help Coal Fired Power Plants Burn Less Coal

By Chris de Morsella on September 9, 2009 13 Comments Abengoa Solar, Cameo coal plant, CO, coal, Coal Fired Power, Colorodo, economy of scale, energy conversion efficiency, Geothermal Energy, Grand Junction, green economy, greenhouse gas, grid parity, Hank Price, pollution, solar concentrator, solar energy, solar manufacturing base, solar power, solar thermal electric power, solar trough, solar-coal hybrid power, solar;, Spain, thermoelectric plants, Xcel Energy

The sun can help coal fired power plants burn less coal by pre-heating the water used to make high pressure high temperature steam during periods when the sun is shining. In other words the sun would do part of the work of producing high pressure/ high temperature steam and in this manner the overall hybrid solar/coal power plant would use less coal than a coal only power plant would need to produce the same amount of electric power.

Green For All Establishes Small Business Capital Access Program for Green Job Creation

By Tracey de Morsella on September 2, 2009 1 Comment Albuquerque, Boston, CAP mentor-protégé network, Capital Access Program, deal sourcing, Denver, emerging businesses, entrepreneurs, financial opportunities, financing partners, Green Business, green economy, green entrepreneurship educational center, Green for All, green products, inclusive, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, non-profits, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, renewable energy, San Diego, San Jose, Seattle, small businesses, social capital, social enterprise, sustainable services, underserved communities

Earlier this month, Green for All established The Capital Access Program for small businesses and non-profits. The program is design to provide these organizations with the resources they need to to support, create and scale green jobs in our local communities.

The Green Economy’s Living Skin

By Chris de Morsella on August 24, 2009 3 Comments "Energy Saving Potentials and Air Quality Benefits of Urban Heat Island Mitigation", "Thermal Performance of Green Roofs through Field Evaluation", air pollution, brownfield restoration, Climate Change, CO2, concrete jungle, Department of Energy, DOE, energy, energy efficiency, environmental footprint, evapotranspiration, global warming, green design, green economy, green parking lots, green roofs, green walls, heat wave Europe 2003, heat waves, insulation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Research Council of Canada, natural environment, natural habitat, peak energy demand, potable water, shade trees, shading, smog, South Coast Air Quality Management District, sustainable economy, thermal mass, urban design, urban forest, urban habitat, urban heat island, water pollution, water quality, Water Scarcity, wetland restoration

Green roofs, green walls, green parking lots, shade trees, the greening of urban spaces in general, the restoration of urban waterways, wetlands and the re-greening of brownfield areas; can all be thought of as different techniques to nurture a green living skin over regions of urban development. While there are many important differences between each of these separate techniques as well as their underlying technologies they all share a common overarching goal of bringing an analog of the natural living green skin that characterizes the natural landscape back into our urban areas. They all promote the restoration and re-integration of these heavily populated areas back into the surrounding natural environment.