Transcript GREEN EARTH - Liberty Chick

The Future is
Green!
What are
green jobs?
Why are they
important?
Lorraine Faulds
Training & Development Director I
SC Employment Security Commission
Why the interest in green jobs?
$$$$
Green Jobs Act of 2007:
$125 million a year for national and state training
programs—never funded
American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
of 2009
$50 BILLION
Broken down into two areas:
Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE)
Goals of the ARRA:
wDouble the capacity of alternative energy over the
next 3 years
wWeatherize 1 million homes
wRetrofit 75% of federal buildings
wBuild 3,000 miles of transmission lines
EE gets $36.5 Billion,
RE gets $8 Billion
w$5 Billion to weatherize homes of one million lowincome families
w$6.3 Billion for energy-related grants to the states
w$4.5 Billion to retrofit federal buildings
w$11 Billion to modernize the nation’s electrical grid
In SC…
Total of $160 million
w$9 million for training
w$41 million for local governments for energy
conservation projects
w$6 million for rebates on energy-efficient appliances
w$58 million weatherization
w$50 million to make government buildings (state
offices, schools, colleges) more energy efficient
Green Jobs Estimate=
460,000 jobs
(nationally)
wNeed to offset loses, especially in construction and
manufacturing
wOne job lost means up to 20 jobs lost in indirect effects
(Economic Modeling Specialists)
wDuring good times, these displaced workers would
transition to a similar job in the same industry. But in
times like these (where there are no other similar
opportunities), retraining is the only option.
What is a
green job?
MANY definitions
wA blue-collar job, upgraded to better respect the
environment (Van Jones, founder of Green For All)
w“Greener” versions of existing occupations
wA traditional job with a layer of green
wJobs that involve protecting wildlife or ecosystems,
reducing pollution or waste, or reducing energy usage
and lowering carbon emissions.
SC is working toward
developing a definition
SC Employment Security Commission
SC Department of Commerce
South Carolina Energy Office
SC Technical College System
The basis for the definition is…
Any activity or service that performs at least one of the
following:
wGenerating renewable energy
wRecycling existing materials
wEnergy efficient product manufacturing, construction,
installation, and maintenance
wEducation, compliance, conservation, and awareness
wNatural and sustainable product manufacturing
Did you notice?
wGenerating renewable energy
wRecycling existing materials
wEnergy efficient product manufacturing, construction,
installation, and maintenance
wEducation, compliance, conservation, and awareness
wNatural and sustainable product manufacturing
It can get confusing…
See the glossary handout for
help with unfamiliar terms.
Two General Areas:
Energy Efficiency
and
Renewable Energy
Energy Efficiency:
It’s not just about putting on a sweater and turning off
the lights!
wGreen new construction
wBuilding Retrofitting/Weatherization
wMass Transit
wSmart Grid
Renewable Energy:
Lots of up-front investment (i.e. manufacturing); we
currently get only 2.4% of our energy from renewable
resources; President Obama wants it up to 25%
wWind
wSolar
wGeothermal
wHydropower
wNuclear
wHydrogen
wClean/low emission coal
wNatural gas
wBiofuels (also called biomass)
A Word about
Nuclear Energy…
In some places, nuclear energy is not considered a
clean, renewable energy source because it creates
hazardous waste and uses a non-renewable resource
(uranium).
It is in SC! It produces 51.2% of the state’s electricity.
Occupations
w “Work in progress” list done by the Department of
Commerce
wBased on other state definitions and lists
w137 occupations in 16 industries
See handout!
Industries
Initially…
Construction, Installation, Maintenance (based on
funding)
Top 4 industries with the most
occupations on the list are…
wLife, Physical, and Social Sciences (23 occupations)
wConstruction and Extraction (20)
wArchitecture and Engineering (19)
wProduction (i.e. manufacturing) (19)
Later on…
Engineering, Production, Sciences (i.e. chemists)
Employment in Green Jobs
Occupations with the most employment in 2008:
wTeam Assemblers = 36,580
wLaborers & Freight , Stock and Material Movers = 34,700
wCustomer Service Representatives = 30,150
wMaintenance & Repair Workers = 26,390
wTruck Drivers, Heavy & Tractor Trailer = 23,160
Employment in Green Jobs
Occupations with the least employment
in 2008:
Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers (40)
Power Distributors and Dispatchers (40)
Soil and Plant Scientists (40)
Wages for Green Jobs
Average hourly wages in 2008 for green jobs in
South Carolina ranged from $45.25 for Nuclear
Engineers to $8.00 for Agricultural Product
Graders and Sorters.
Wages for Green Jobs
Top 5 Green Jobs by 2008 Average Hourly Wage:
wAir Traffic Controller = $51.97*
wNuclear Engineer = $45.25
wComputer & Information Scientists = $44.08
wSales Engineers = $41.05
wChemical Engineers = $40.33
wElectrical Engineers = $38.86
Career Clusters
wManufacturing (29 occs)
wArchitecture and Construction (28)
wScience, Technology, Engineering and Math (24)
See handout!
Skills Needed
Ten Competencies Needed
to Be Successful in Environmental Work
1. Communication skills
2. Collaboration, bridge-building abilities
3. “Customer” orientation
4. Creativity/innovative thinking
5. Broad environmental sciences understanding
6. Analytical ability, critical thinking, problem-solving
7. Work orientation, professionalism, positive attitude
8. Occupation-specific skills and knowledge
9. Mastery of information technology
10. Leadership ability
From Remake a Living: Defining the Environmental Workforce
by Kevin Doyle
National Credentials
The Association of Energy Engineers: facilities managers, HVAC
installers, geothermal certifications
The North American Board of Energy Practitioners: photovoltaic
(solar) installers and photovoltaic technicians
The Building Performance Institute: building analysts, HVAC;
required for Energy Star contractors
Solar Energy International: Renewable energy certifications
The Green Building Certification Institute: Runs the Leadership in
Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) Accredited Professionals
Program for green management and facilities management fields
Education Levels
Back to the list…
wOJT: 72 occupations
(15 short, 33 moderate, 24 long-term)
wBachelor’s Degree: 32
wAssociate’s Degree: 12
Training in High School
“We’re not going to be able to build anything and do any
green retrofits until we have the workforce to do that. If
we wait until they are out of high school to start training
them, we’re going to lose a lot of people.”
Jay Hansen, Legislative and Political Director for California’s State Building
and Construction Trades Council
Green High Schools
South Tahoe High School’s Green Academy (CA): Expose
students to green construction, auto mechanics, and technology
Aiken University High School (OH): Environmental sciences
program including ECO-nomics (looks at economics and how the
market place can effect the environment); college credit offered
Environmental Charter High School (CA): Green Action
Curriculum, Green Ambassador program, Senior Seminar
environmental project, Earth Day Educational Festival
Conferences: Green Building Expo (MA), Agricultural Ecology (IL),
Energy Career Day (CO)
Current programs can have
a “green” element added:
wConstruction trades: Electrician, Plumber, HVAC
wCulinary trades: Organic farming, composting
wAutomotive: Hybrid and electric powered-vehicles
Examples of
Tech School Programs
Biotechnology at Greenville Tech
Advanced Agriculture Certificate (includes sustainable agriculture) at
Piedmont Tech
Environmental Engineering Technology at Central Carolina Tech
Continuing Education:
Trident Tech: Home Energy Rating Field Inspector
Greenville Tech: Fundamentals of Solar Hot Water Heating, Photovoltaic
System Design, Weatherization Energy Auditor, Green Building
Midlands Tech: Alternative Energy Operations, Energy-Efficient Design for
Architects, Green Building for Contractors, Photovoltaic System Design
and Installation
Teacher Tools
Green-Collar Jobs Campaign Teaching Tools: For HS,
5-part series exploring the green economy, eco-equality,
model cities, and restorative justice.
(Go to www.ellabakercenter.org)
Rainforest Action Network: For MS and HS, 5-parts
including Green My School, Green My Ride, Soy What?,
No New Coal, Old Growth Forests; also Global Warming
(used with Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth movie),
Reclaim the Future
(Go to http://ran.org/new/ryse/educators.)
Teacher Tools
(con’t.)
Going To Green Environmental Education Curriculum
(based on the PBS Series Edens Lost and Found): For
HS, video and text series on sustainability, community
and environmental awareness (20 different topics),
Sample unit at www.mediapolicycenter.org.
Green Teacher magazine and Teaching Green book
series: Go to www.greenteacher.com.
SC Energy Office: Energy 2 Learn lesson plans,
Energy Fact Sheets, link to US Department of Energy’s
Kids Page (Go to www.energy.sc.gov.)
The Future
wBiotechnology
wNanotechnology
wEntrepreneurship: Recessions are a sort of “cold
shower” that wakes you up to the fact that things need to
change. “Well, I have nothing to lose now. I can do what
I’ve always wanted to do.”
The Crystal Ball
The US Conference of Mayors said an economy that shifts to
generating 40 percent of its electricity from wind, solar, biomass,
and other fuels will generate 4.2 million green jobs by 2038.
The Apollo Alliance coalition of environmentalists and business
leaders says a $500 billion investment over the next 10 years will
create 5 million green-collar jobs.
According to a study from the Blue-Green Alliance and the
Renewable Energy Policy Project, requiring that 20% of our
electricity come from renewable sources by 2020 would create
820,000 jobs across the country.
Thanks for your
interest in green jobs!
Lorraine Faulds
Training & Development Director I
SC Employment Security Commission
[email protected]
803-737-2714