EnergyCareerPath.com

Green-Tern  has accepted the opportunity to help with the promotion of  Ecology Action ' s Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core Training.  For my friends and followers in (or near) Placer County, read on and share... Ecology Action is pleased to announce a free Energy Efficiency Public Outreach Specialist training program for residents of Placer County and the Capitol region. In exchange for the free training, students become a part of the EA Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core program, a grassroots effort to promote residential energy and water efficiency rebate programs in Placer County.  Please see the attached flyer and application for details and a class agenda ( volunteercoreapplication  ) , or go to  http://www.ecoact.org/Volunteer_Application/ . Please consider posting the volunteer application link to your website and/or distributing this announcement to people in your circle who may be interested in joining the EA Energy Upgrade Volunteer Core. Please...

One of the challenges that many students face upon completion of their studies is creating the continuity from the technical training to field applications.  Part of the problem associated with this is idea that the area of study should directly correlate to the position with the same title.  However, the common theme that I try to present to the students is that recognizing their passions and natural talent should be the priority as this is essential to their successful integration into the workforce. To help you with learning how to look beyond classifications of a career path, I’ve been given the fortunate opportunity to meet an urban planner that will highlight the overall message of this post.  Greg Chew is an urban planner for the Sacramento Area Council of Governments and is highly involved in the community.  Greg was kind enough to provide professional insight for the Green-Terns. The following is the content of the interview: Green-Tern (GT): Give...

Today I had the opportunity to attend the Sacramento Region Consortium that focused on the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program.  In short, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the Sacramento Region $1.5 million to create a regional sustainability plan for the six-county Sacramento region.  What I found most intriguing was that the consortium is a collaborative effort that can include anyone from the interested citizen to staff in local jurisdictions.  As far as business development is concerned, any organization that includes feedback from top to bottom (i.e. executive to front line employee) is destined for success.  It's a golden rule for effective communication and strategy implementation. But back to the program.  The initial meeting was designed to facilitate an understanding of the objectives, which includes the Transit Priority Area vision.  Imagine a community with optimal housing and employment ch...

In a recent post from The Green Economy Post, an article titled, " Green Energy’s Big Challenge: The Daunting Task of Scaling Up " places the penetration progress of our various resources into proper perspective.  With impressive increases in acceptance of renewable energy, (see " $6-billion solar industry logs another record year ") society is nowhere near snapping the umbilical connection to fossil fuels.  One of the more prominent notions is that the United States is trailing Europe in renewable project implementation.  Make no mistake, this form of international "in-your-face" is necessary for innovation here in the states.  However, the article goes on further to stifle the belief that countries like Germany are faring better.   "Despite more than 21,000 wind turbines and 13 million square meters of solar installations, Germany still gets more than 50 percent of its electricity from burning fossil fuels, including lignite, the most polluting form...

Despite the capital invested in your education or transitional training, be prepared to enter the industry at the bottom of the pecking order.  No matter how strong of a game-changing attitude you may think you'll bring, understand that the hierarchical system of social organization in that company is going to ensure that your aspirations of coming in as top chicken will be de-feathered.  At least initially or until you’ve made enough coffee runs.  Corporate culture alone takes a period of saturation to understand.  Add in passion for environmental responsibility to that culture and you have one of the toughest organizational environments to penetrate if you don't support the vision.  In addition, the game has become ...still remains challenging as many career individuals with the very experience you desire to obtain have been displaced and are now fighting for the same position you're willing to do for free.  This only adds to the necessity ...

As you dive in to the vast world of sustainability, you must first recognize there are many applicable sustainability standards depending on the industry you choose to participate in.  As with any job interview, one of the main cards you can have in your back pocket is the element of industry standards knowledge.  Familiarizing yourself with sustainability standards for your target industry is essential to determining the health of an organization and whether that company compliments your level of environmental ethics. ASTM International , formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is an organization that develops standards that address environmental and economic concerns in buildings and construction.  These standards focus on measurements for sustainability action impact.  This organization offers a virtual classroom to new members which may be of interest to you. Have an eye for interior design?  Perhaps the sustainability st...

Okay.  We're not going to really talk about rats, but imagine the outcome if you had to decide on the survival of your family over sparing an endangered animal.  I love life, I love nature.  But at some point we have to make a decision that results in a better tomorrow.  I'll come back to this. The Sacramento Business Journal recently posted the report, " California, Sacramento keeps growing 'green' jobs " which highlights the achievements of the region that includes California's Core Green Economy Job average annual growth rate of 3%. First, I want go in to Next 10's report and focus on ideas for the green-tern. Page 14 (report is no longer avail as of 2018) provides a quick reference table of Green segments and job types that can help you with your research for careers in the Green industry.   Another great find in this report is how major cities are defined by the type of energy solutions they focus on determined by employment shares.  For examp...

The method of using incineration to generate power by burning material (or waste) and then converting the steam to power turbines easily brings up arguments for and against its use.  When discussing costs per tonnage, incineration requires the least capital.  However, the ash, emissions, and the clean-up required as a result of the incineration process is an environmental challenge. Pyrolysis involves the decomposition of organic material in the absence of oxygen, thereby reducing the amount of emissions.  In addition, the process produces very little ash.  This process can produce bio-fuel. In a recent article, " Donation Drives New Direction of Bioenergy Research at University of Idaho ", the University of Idaho received a donation from APT Advanced Trailer and Equipment LP to install a pyrolysis unit at the University's steam plant to research converting wood biomass to energy.   Extracted from the article, "The process yields about 60 percent bio-o...

Take it as a marketing tactic or a terrific sign of the company's commitment to energy, but Siemens is in the news again, but this time for the wind industry. (Found in PR Newswire) Siemens Receives its Largest Onshore Wind Turbine Order to Date and Further Solidifies its Position in the U.S. Wind Power Market No matter what your school of thought is towards the feasibility of wind power, as long as companies continue to receive orders for their renewable energy products, I will remain confident in the future of innovation to support environmental preservation.   I am not here to prove the reliability of nature to produce wind.  If we can hook up a power cord to a hamster wheel and the little fur ball generates power, I'm content.  What I want to instill is that the opportunity for a career in wind has enough "gust" to propel you far enough to learn where you will fit in. Take a look at the Siemens website here .  If you're unfamiliar with the interconnect...

Every so often, I will share some of my dialogue between my classmates. It’s better to get a third perspective from my audience than to rely on who typed the last period. A classmate had asked, “Do you think society takes environmental matters seriously?” So, here is the argument behind their question. If society actually cared enough about the environment, there wouldn’t be so many challenges to get all the players to agree on at least moving towards the use of renewables and the application of sustainability. My response: “I would say that society and the current generations may not take the environmental matters seriously (or at least at levels necessary to make a drastic difference). Fortunately, as long as education exists, we have the opportunity to pass down knowledge to generations that may have no choice but to make a difference.” I compared this thought to the baby boomer’s adoption of the Internet. When the concept first became mainstream, many of the boomers rem...