The Green Career Debate Rages On
by Sharon Coral
It started a while back… The news was being buzzed about all over the Internet that green careers would be the catalyst in helping America recover financially. Did it work? Well, the answer to that question depends on who you ask.
When it comes to having a green career, there are tons of jobs out there to choose from. The green career has actually changed the modern workplace in the last two decades; more and more industries are discovering the latest green technology to open up even more pathways for the American worker.
The demand and desire for the green career continues to grow. There are the Higher Demand Green Occupations, which are basically careers where the
duties on the job never change but the scope of the career expands because of the increased demand for greener products. Everything from the good, old bus driver to the agricultural inspector, is needed in the 21st Century far more than ever before. One, is to meet the rising demand of people who want to take alternate transportation instead of adding more pollution to the already clogged atmosphere; while the other is necessary in order to meet the now high demand for organic and sustainable farming techniques.
When it comes to the electric and building industry, the green career has also taken off. American homes are being built and retrofitted with far greener and more money-saving, efficient solutions. Taking just the HVAC industry, for example, companies such as ClimateMaster are being utilized by millions of American homeowners for the geothermal heating and cooling systems that can run a home so efficiently, that the homeowner can lower their utility bills by up to 80%.
Green construction has also taken off. Each new day consumers read about new solar facilities or geothermal projects that are covering both commercial and residential needs.
Another category of green careers is the Changing Skills Green Occupations. These fields of business are actually the ones adding new job duties each and every day; they are expanding into specialty areas because of the constant new green products and services that are finding their way into the American market.
Extra education has also been monitored in green data collected by researchers. When it comes to those construction managers who need to know all about the geothermal heating and cooling technology, they’ve gone back to school. In addition, PR and marketing companies have gone back in order to keep up with the new ways to develop and market green businesses.
Farmers and ranchers are learning the many new sustainable farming practices because more and more consumers are demanding their food be organic and all-natural.
The last category of the green career is called, New Green, which is simply the brand new career choices that have been spawned by the ‘green’ world. Energy auditors are now necessary, who are experts at determining just how energy-efficient homes or buildings really are. Sustainability Officers are part of the team when it comes to overseeing and managing green activities, and Wind Energy Engineers are now a staple in the American job market, as we find new ways to design and develop wind farm systems for better efficiency.
It was not so long ago (2009, to be exact), when a variety of magazines spoke about the idea that green careers helping this country’s economy was nothing more than a pathetic attempt for politicians to grasp at straws in order to keep the American public at ease.
They basically said that believing in the fact that green jobs would rescue us all and save the planet was simply opening a door to fantasy. They felt that to expand green jobs you needed to first have the economic growth to support the green industry – and not the other way around. So, who was right?
The U.S. solar industry has added nearly 14,000 new solar jobs – a 13.2% growth rate and counting. 750,000-plus clean jobs have been created in the U.S. between January and March 2013, with some States showing huge gains because of them. California’s clean tech sector is the largest in the country, and is a major factor in growing the state’s weak economy. In spite of the economic recession, with its loss of jobs and 11 percent unemployment rate, California made huge gains through investing in the green sector.
Experts say that by 2030, the green career field will be enormous, helping to support all states’ economies for the rest of time.
Turns out that the green career was most definitely a good thing for this country’s economy. And, better yet, the American consumer’s demand to have more green products and services rages on!
Source: Baret News Wire
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