In this issue:
• Green Around the Collar
• Green About Green
• Legislative Tracker
• Green Gaffes
• Green Workforce Preparedness Initiative
• Member News
• Rice: Business of Science
• St. Lawrence: Breaking New Ground for Students
• Mesalands: NAWRTC Software Donation from OSIsoft
• HVACReducation: Growing Green Education Online
• Eco Institution: "Green Collar" Job Movement Booming!
• Lethbridge: Green Leadership Office (GLO)
• About Green Collar Association
|
Green Around the Collar
By: Ron Sokolov, Senior Vice President for Strategic Partnerships
 The team at Green Collar Association is deeply moved by the overwhelming response from around the world and within our membership to the tragedy in Haiti. The death toll and destruction are hard to comprehend. The images and stories are heart wrenching. A list of organizations accepting donations is available at the following site. In the coming weeks we will work with aid organizations to determine what type of help is required in terms of rebuilding and will let you know should you be in a position to assist the people of Haiti.
>> Read more
|
Green About Green
By: Dr. Michael O. Dayan, Director of Research & Communications
 Before the COP15 negotiations began scores of concerned scholars and journalists reminded us that failure to adequately address climate change would bring global catastrophe. They argued that dramatic change, beginning with a fully negotiated agreement, is required within a short period of time. COP15 negotiations were thus framed with dire urgency and steep expectations. When I wrote Why COP15 Matters? for the November issue of this newsletter my thinking aligned with the skeptics, such as Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen, who argued that a final comprehensive deal would not be reached in December. Accordingly, I cautioned against overinflated expectations that could "lead to feelings of failure." Instead, I advocated a goal of a "strong interim agreement [that] will send necessary market signals to unleash a renewable energy revolution and initiate a green collar job bonanza." My argument was to frame COP15 negotiations as a step toward the objective, rather than the final opportunity to reach the objective.
>> Click Here
|
Legislative Tracker
Opposition to US EPA endangerment finding that would allow is to regulate greenhouse gases grows in both House and Senate
The Obama Administration has announced that it will issue guidance that requires all environmental assessment of Federal government projects to incorporate an assessment of the impact on greenhouse gases
The so-called "Cap and Rebate" bill takes a dramatically different approach than the current cap and trade approach favored in both the major House and Senate bills
Bi-Partisan group of senators introduces "Framework for Climate Action" on eve of Copenhagen conference
>> Click Here
|
Green Gaffes
REPLACEMENT WINDOWS
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn't paid for them.
Hellloooo,...........So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It's been a year! I told him. There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.
|
|
Green Workforce Preparedness Initiative
Putting the Green Collar JOBS into the Green Economy
The opportunity is clear: millions of new jobs and global leadership in the worldwide green economy.
The motivation is strong: avoid irreparable damage to the environment and global economy while enhancing national security and prosperity.
The inevitability is clear: India, China, and Europe, as evidenced by their economic policies and multi-billion dollar investments, are committed to leading the charge.
Achieving a green economy is not a question of "if" or even "when", but rather one of "how." The first mover will lead the energy infrastructure of the future. Transforming an economy requires not only new technologies and a vision of tomorrow, but also a green collar workforce – uniting blue and white collar, equipped with a new set of skills and tools to make them successful and grow the economy at large.
>> Click Here
|
|
Member News
Members are invited to submit news releases to greencollar.org. In addition to posting these to our site, we add them to our newsletter. Please enjoy the following news releases from some of our members. To submit your news, please e-mail us: gcnews@greencollar.org
|
Rice: Business of Science
There is much talk these days of the need for young people pursuing college degrees to seriously consider science. After all, basic scientific research is at the heart of advances in biosciences and medicine, computing, power generation, the development of novel materials, and the myriad other technologies that sustain our lives and our civilization. The reality, however, is that many students who come away from college with a bachelor’s degree in the sciences do not go on to earn the advanced degrees necessary to enter into research and development. Some are not interested in becoming researchers, and others simply are not suited to a life in the lab.
>> Click Here
|
St. Lawrence: Breaking New Ground for Students
St. Lawrence College held a ground breaking event for the Wind Turbine and Trades Training Facility on Friday, November 27, 2009. This new facility will be a state-of-the-art, innovative learning environment for students of our Wind Turbine Technician, Brick and Stone Masonry, Industrial Electrician and Millwright programs in the future.
Last January the Ontario government committed $1.6 million to helping St. Lawrence College train more workers to meet the growing number of jobs in the next generation of green industries.
>> Click Here
|
Mesalands: NAWRTC Software Donation from OSIsoft
Mesalands Community College’s North American Wind Research and Training Center (NAWRTC) recently received a software program and 30 client applications for student use, valued at approximately $230,000 from OSIsoft, a privately held company with worldwide operations that manufactures the PI System. The PI System is the industry standard in enterprise infrastructure, used for management of real-time data and events. It is often used in computerized monitoring of industrial equipment with rotating parts, such as wind turbines.
>> Click Here
|
HVACReducation: Growing Green Education Online
More than ever before, employers and contractors are asking workers to prove their skills by holding industry certifications and credentials. The best way workers can gain the skills and knowledge they need for their career is through education. However, because our lives are so busy, education may feel out of reach for many workers. Our solution is to bring the education to the individuals who need it ONLINE. Online learning demands less sacrifice from students and their families and is more accessible. Individuals may learn a new career and prepare for license exams, add new knowledge areas to their existing career, or prepare for industry certification exams.
>> Click Here
|
Eco Institution: "Green Collar" Job Movement Booming!
San Diego, California - January 18, 2010 - The green movement continues to create new career opportunities for skilled tradesmen, home service providers, and green entrepreneurs says the Eco Institution.
Energy auditors have existed long before the green movement. However, only recently have they been in such high demand. In October 2009, Yahoo.com cited energy efficiency jobs among the hottest "Green" careers today. Energy efficiency inspections are mandatory in Austin, Texas prior to the sale of the home. It is predicted that all homes in the US will require energy inspections prior to being sold in the near future.
>> Click Here
|
Lethbridge: Green Leadership Office (GLO)
Green is the colour of choice at Lethbridge College these days: as a major employer, landowner and educator, the institution understands its responsibility to the community to be innovative and instructional in its promotion of sustainability.
However, as green comes in several shades, initiatives require co-ordination to be dynamic. Beginning this month, it will be the domain of Leona Rousseau and Dave McRae as Lethbridge College’s newly appointed Green Leadership Office (GLO) team, to help steer the campus towards a united approach in all it does.
>> Click Here
|
|
About Green Collar Association
Green Collar Association represents 85,000 members of the workforce, educational community, and corporations who share a common objective: to position North America to lead the green economy. We are a clearinghouse that supports green collar job growth through education and training. We do this by connecting members of the workforce individually, and through their corporations, with educational opportunities that equip them with knowledge of trends and best practices to perform the roles and tasks required for the green economy.
Green Collar Association hosts over 2,000 sustainability courses from educational members ranging from 4-year universities, technological institutes, community colleges, and private educational providers. We welcome you to learn more by visiting us at greencollar.org.
>> Read more
|
|
Not a member?
|
Featured Member Conferences
|
Featured Organization Members
|
Support Non-Profit Members
|
Member Logo
Green Collar Association members proudly display our member logo in corporate communications!
Download the GCA member logo.
|
Stay Connected
|
We want to hear from you! Let us know if there's a particular story, theme, or idea you'd like us to explore. Do you have article suggestions we should know about? We publish selected letters from our members and occasionally we have open calls for written submissions. If you send us an email request we'll be glad to publish your news releases. Please email us: gcnews@greencollar.org.
|
|
