EnergyCareerPath.com

I was recently asked to comment on some of the skepticism toward the availability of job opportunities within the renewable and sustainable industries.  Both classifications are included as there is a difference, but for the sake of simplifying the message, we'll refer to the "Green" industry.  As an organization focused on accelerating opportunities within this industry, I was more than happy to help with the common goal. The Perspective Challenge The challenge is to decipher between the health of the job market relative to the overall economy and recognizing the true level of opportunities within the Green sector.  As broad as this subject is, you can choose to further dissect the viability of each industry within it (solar, wind, bio, [insert passion here]).  Given that elements such as political influence, local economies (consider the predominant industry as in the oil states, great example here ), regulations and incentives, acceptance of technology, effect...

So the challenge of reviewing the latest on Obama and his direction toward domestic solutions brings up the question of whether or not we look at the package for the immediate good or the realization that the longer term issues are unwavering.  In the article, " Obama urges one-third cut in oil imports " Obama offers the same speech of focusing on the wider use of natural gas and biofuels and establishing higher fuel efficiency standards.  Yet in the same breath, there is a call for "oil companies to make greater use of the federal leases both onshore and offshore to prop up domestic oil output." In my classes, I've had discussions on how to gauge progress in environmental economics.  In one instance, we can commend the President and his drive to push for the advancement of alternative fuel sources, yet without addressing the reason why there is a need for alternatives, we end up with the "more domestic oil!" speech which does little for decreasing d...

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...

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...

In an article from OregonLive.com, " SolarWorld, others in Oregon hope to benefit from new "Buy America" law ", there are indications that the DOD Appropriations Act has a provision that will give SolarWorld and other companies with U.S. factories some protection from Chinese solar companies. First, take a few steps back and recall on December 19, 2010, President Barack Obama signed in to law the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act .    At the time of the signing, most of the media was hailing that Act as a successful move to support the efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Due diligence will have you reading between the lines and understanding that the Act was much more. You can find the provision in H.R. 3326: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010 , Section 8038 which "Prohibits the use of funds: (1) by a DOD entity without compliance with the Buy American Act." Let's look at a few more details and attempt to take away key elem...