Posted by Nancy Sabatelli on Jan.14, 2010

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It sure doesn’t seem like jobs are booming and plentiful right now – many companies are downsizing, people are losing jobs and the economy is in rough shape. But surprisingly, the demand for “green jobs” – jobs that focus on positively impacting the environment – is growing. In many cases, green jobs are based on older, traditionally blue-collar jobs “in familiar fields like manufacturing, construction and maintenance and repair,” according to Ada McMahon for Yahoo! Hot Jobs (1).

Why the demand for green jobs? People are more mindful of the planet. They’re looking to conserve energy and waste in the workplace, plus searching for better building and manufacturing materials. In addition, with new government mandates on energy usage and pollution, the federal government is offering economic incentives to develop new green jobs.

Even private investors are playing a role in creating new green jobs.

Increasing Concern for the Environment

Technology and manufacturing are crucial. We use energy and materials to produce and transport the goods we need everyday. However, the production of these goods results in air and water pollution, trash that gets sent to landfills, as well as energy that uses up natural resources. New jobs aim to reduce pollution, trash and energy usage, developing new ways to produce and transport goods with fewer negative environmental effects.

Political and Economic Factors

• Government mandates. The government has set forth many new regulations. These laws limit energy usage, set standards for air and water quality, encourage alternative energy and fuel sources, etc. (2, 4). To implement and carry out these new regulations, new jobs will be created.

• Recessions and booms. Companies are going out of business, money is tight, everyone seems to be cutting corners – face it, we’re in a recession. You may not think that tough times are springboards for booming new businesses, but some major inventions with the biggest impacts were born during recessions, explains Jordan Robertson on Yahoo! Finance (2). For example, railroad tracks and train transportation, telephones, phonographs, electronics and computers were developed during various recessions and downturns throughout history. Look at how these industries have grown! Now, “Cleantech” – finding better, cleaner fuel and energy sources – may be the next big boom, paving the way for new jobs in these fields, claims Robertson.

• Federal funding for new programs. Over the past few years, the federal government has spent big bucks on new programs to create green jobs. This trend is expected to continue as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), otherwise known as the stimulus package (1, 2, 3, 5, 7):

  • “The Obama administration is pledging to invest $150 billion over the next decade on energy technology and says that could create 5 million jobs,” according to Robertson (2).

  • “The economic stimulus plan approved by the House allocates over $100 billion for green projects,” reports Lori Bongiorno for Yahoo! Green. She says this investment could “create about two million jobs over two years” (3).

  • “In December 2007, President Bush signed the Green Jobs Act to train workers for green collar jobs. It authorizes $125 million for workforce training programs” in industries like solar and wind power, notes the organization, Green For All (7). Specifically, these training programs target jobseekers such as “veterans, displaced workers, at-risk youth and families in extreme poverty.”

• Private funding. It’s not just the government that’s shelling out money to create green jobs. Wealthy private individuals known as venture capitalists are pooling their resources and investing in new green start-up companies. In turn, such companies could open the door for more green jobs:

  • “Venture capitalists have poured $8.7 billion into energy-related startups in the U.S. since 2006,” writes Robertson (2).

Be sure to read the upcoming article – “Part 2: What Are Some of the Best Green Jobs?” – for a closer look at different types of green jobs and how to find them.

Sources

1. McMahon, Ada. What Are Green-Collar Jobs? (2009). Yahoo! HotJobs. Retrieved December 1, 2009 from http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-what_are_green_collar_jobs-874

2. Robertson, Jordan. Where’s the Next Boom? Maybe in ‘Cleantech.’ (October 6, 2009). Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved December 1, 2009 from http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Wheres-the-next-boom-Maybe-in-apf-2624700390.html?x=0

3. Bongiorno, Lori. What the ‘Green Collar’ Economy Means for You. (January 29, 2009). Yahoo! Green. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/231/what-the-green-collar-economy-means-for-you.html

4. Bongiorno, Lori. How to Find a Green Job. (June 2, 2009). Yahoo! Green. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/76/how-to-find-a-green-job.html

5. Tice, Carol. Green Jobs That Make $30 an Hour. (2009). Yahoo! HotJobs. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-articles-green_jobs_that_make_30_an_hour-1019

6. Dunn, Colin. Land a Green Job. (March 23, 2008). Planet Green. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://planetgreen.discovery.com/work-connect/land-a-green-job.html

7. What Are Green-Collar Jobs? (2009). Green For All. Retrieved December 5, 2009 from http://www.greenforall.org/green-collar-jobs

8. Broek, Anna Vander. Six-Figure Green Jobs. (October 16, 2008). Forbes. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/16/sixfigure-green-jobs-lead-corprespons08-cx_avb_1016jobs.html

9. Blaszczyk, Connie. Green and Growing: Environmental Jobs. (2009). Monster. Retrieved January 1, 2010 from http://career-advice.monster.com/job-search/Company-Industry-Research/Green-and-Growing-Environmental-Job/article.aspx

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