
{"id":4320,"date":"2008-12-22T07:24:37","date_gmt":"2008-12-22T15:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=4320"},"modified":"2008-12-22T07:28:40","modified_gmt":"2008-12-22T15:28:40","slug":"green-jobs-may-be-one-answer-to-rebuilding-the-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2008\/12\/22\/green-jobs-may-be-one-answer-to-rebuilding-the-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Green jobs may be one answer to rebuilding the economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>By Margot C. Lester<br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>While it may seem like all the news about employment is bad \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and a lot of it is \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one sector that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s poised for growth: green-collar jobs. <\/p>\n<p>From global behemoths like Wal-Mart to small enterprises like Pittsboro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Piedmont Biofuels, businesses are going green and they need employees at all levels and positions to help them do it. Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the massive plan to create or save 2.5 million jobs in green businesses announced by President-elect Barack Obama late last month.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good news for the Triangle, which is fertile ground for green-collar job growth thanks to the area\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strong entrepreneurial environment, easy access to the latest technology and research, and massive amounts of hog waste (more on that last bit in a minute). A report from the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington D.C. think tank and advocacy group, estimates that the state could net 62,015 jobs by nurturing green-collar businesses and projects. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Defining \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcgreen-collar\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What exactly is a green-collar job? <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In a narrower sense, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a position that directly relates to sustainability or the environment, like environmental engineering, alternative energy management, environmentally-sensitive design, etc,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says John Challenger, CEO of Chicago-based global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray &#038; Christmas, Inc. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153In its broadest sense, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s any position working on a project with a green mission. So if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re an accountant working on a construction project that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s using sustainable building practices, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a green-collar job.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>The Employment Security Commission of North Carolina has a similarly loose definition: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We define these jobs as positions like those found in bio-tech and even in some agriculture-related fields, like Christmas tree farming &#8212; good for the economy, good for the environment and a product needed year-in and year-out,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d explains Andrew James, the ESC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s director of public information. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Identifying opportunities <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Companies in the green business, like Piedmont Biofuels or Durham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cree (which makes microchips for LED lights), are likely to see the most job growth. Cary software giant SAS will be increasing green hires now that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s got a five-acre solar farm at its headquarters. <\/p>\n<p>And about that hog waste. A recent Duke University study shows North Carolina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much-maligned pork industry could have a green lining. Our plethora of hog farms makes us a hotbed for research and development on super-soil waste-treatment technology. The developing technology eliminates discharge of animal waste to surface or ground water and reduces significantly the air and water contamination.<br \/>\nStill, positions at strictly green companies won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be enough to overcome the current job loss.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153However, the focus on green across industries will create jobs for people with all skills, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where real growth comes from,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Challenger says.<\/p>\n<p>Another source of growth: infrastructure programs. According to the CAP, North Carolina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s share of the proposed national green economic-recovery program would be $2.9 billion. That kind of funding would not only produce safer and greener bridges and roads and public buildings, it would create lots of jobs. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Making it happen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The new president-elect and Congress have to deal with the energy situation, and there are already proposals on Capitol Hill to infuse capital into the marketplace on alternative energies, so that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be the trend for the next four years,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d predicts Bradly Broadwell, director of the Orange County Economic Development Commission. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We have to see how our local assets jibe with federal spending trends, which will turn into state trends. That means taking advantage of the assets we already have in hand.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nAmong those assets are a highly educated and progressive workforce and local research universities.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Triangle has plenty of people with imagination, and it has a tendency to transform its landscape,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Lyle Estill, founder and CEO of Piedmont Biofuels. <\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that long ago, remember, that we were a mainly agricultural region that just happened to be home to some great universities. When they tore down that still to build then-Burroughs Wellcome out in RTP, it signaled more than a symbolic shift in the local economy.<\/p>\n<p>How much the green-collar revolution will impact our local economy remains to be seen. But one thing\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s for sure, it will.<\/p>\n<p>Green sector salaries by job title<br \/>\nJob title                    entry salary       median salary<br \/>\nEnvironmental engineers\t$50,702\t$71,800<br \/>\nEnvironmental scientists\t$34,000\t$55,000<br \/>\nUrban\/regional planners\t$36,000\t$57,560<br \/>\nConservation scientists\t$33,000\t$56,515<br \/>\nForesters                          $32,000\t$51,938<br \/>\nEnvironmental lawyers\t$40,000-$71,000\t$103,130<br \/>\nSource: Challenger, Gray &#038; Christmas, Inc. with data provided by Monster.com and Payscale.com<\/p>\n<p>Leading Resources for Green Job Leads<br \/>\nwww.ecoemploy.com<br \/>\nwww.ecojobs.com<br \/>\nwww.environmentalcareer.com<br \/>\nwww.greenbiz.com<br \/>\nwww.greenjobs.com<br \/>\nwww.monster.com<br \/>\nwww.sustainablebusiness.com<br \/>\nSource: Challenger, Gray &#038; Christmas, Inc.<\/p>\n<p>Editor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Note: This story is the third in a series about jobs and the local economy. If the recession has affected you or your business, or you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a business considering layoffs, please drop a line to margot@carrborocitizen.com. We might tell your story in an upcoming installment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Margot C. Lester Staff Writer While it may seem like all the news about employment is bad \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and a lot of it is \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one sector that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s poised for growth: green-collar jobs. From global behemoths like Wal-Mart to small enterprises like Pittsboro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Piedmont Biofuels, businesses are going green and they need employees&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[275,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-economy","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4320"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4323,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4320\/revisions\/4323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}