| |
Daily DigestLike to Write?
 Passionate about local sports? Into the environment? Obsessive about local meetings?
Let your neighbors know what's going on in Berkshire County! iBerkshires accepts submissions about local events, news and opinion pieces. There are openings for freelance work, too, for qualified candidates. E-mail tdaniels@iberkshires.com to find out more. |
Got Flu?
Track its spread through Google! |
| Need to contact iBerkshires? Here's how. |
ObituariesWhat's Playing
A television-hero pup (John Travolta) thinks he's a real superdog in the Disney film "Bolt." |
Sales FliersColumnists | Independent Investor
|
Other StuffRelated Stories |
| |
Earth Day: Growing Need for Green JobsBy Jen Thomas - April 22, 2008
iBerkshires Staff
 | | Ernest Pritchard III, a
co-founder and director of small wind at SED, sits atop Jiminy Peak's Zephyr wind turbine. [Courtesy of Sustainable Energy Development.] |
NORTH ADAMS — When Van Jones, president of the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, Calif., addressed attendees to the Green Jobs Forum in Cambridge last summer, he called for a revolution — one that would put Massachusetts at the forefront of saving the world from an "eco-apocalypse."
According to Jones, it's not just enough to encourage recycling, energy-efficiency and sustainability.
The real solution to the host of environmental problems that plague the county (and the world) is investing in a future where people from all walks of life are able to participate. Advocating "green pathways out of poverty," Jones said so-called "green-collar jobs" are the key to ensuring that communities are not only environmentally-friendly but also poised for economic success.
"Green-collar jobs, as we define them, are well-paid, career-track jobs that contribute directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality. Like traditional blue-collar jobs, green-collar jobs range from low-skill, entry-level positions to high-skill, higher-paid jobs, and include opportunities for advancement in both skills and wages," according to the Ella Baker Center's 2007 report "Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities."
Morgan Goodwin, a senior at Williams College and a member of the Sierra Student Coalition, explained that green jobs can offer opportunities for unskilled workers to be retrained and to have growth up the career ladder.
"You teach a high school dropout how to install solar panels and he's on his way to becoming an electrical engineer," said Goodwin, who noted that "eco-apartheid" — a phenomenon that separates those who can afford to go green from those who can't —means the poor would be impacted "first and worst" by the "Green Wave" if they have no chance to get onboard.
"One of the problems we're facing is that the blue-collar jobs are being outsourced. These green-collar ones can't be sent away to China. You can't install insulation in China. You can't weatherize a house in China," said Goodwin.
The biggest obstacle standing in the way of the expanding green economy is a dramatic shortage in workers who are knowledgeable about green technology, as well as of laborers in the manufacturing, construction and installation sectors.
Here in the county, movement toward training and education for this sort of skilled work force is strengthening as the popularity of going green increases.
"I am sure there are people interested in training especially with the Berkshires' innovative nature. And with the rising cost of gas and electricity, it is inevitable that people would jump on this bandwagon," said Heather Boulger, the executive director of the Berkshire Regional Employment Board.
Growing Economic Sector
The New England Clean Energy Council reports that a recent census positions clean energy as the 10th largest sector in the state with 14,500 current jobs and growing at a rate of more than 20 percent per year.
Boulger said an initiative to train local builders, business employees and tradesmen in green technology at Greenfield Community College was gaining traction there and could possibly be replicated in the Berkshires.
"There was some interest from some organizations in the region, like Williams College, the Center for Ecological Technology and some entrepreneurial folks, to possibly piggyback on this initiative," Boulger said, adding that she was hoping to host discussions on the issue next month.
But the Berkshires aren't completely devoid of the momentum that green-collar jobs are experiencing in places like Oakland.
With the impending creation of Berkshire Biodiesel at Crane & Co.'s Ashuelot Park in Pittsfield, approximately 30 jobs will open up for workers at the $50 million facility.
"Green-collar jobs are jobs that are in some way created by the environmental industry. It can be anything from what we're doing at Berkshire Biodiesel to photovoltaics — not only the manufacturing but the installation. This state and this country have to move in this direction if we want to survive," said Lee Harrison, executive vice president of Berkshire Biodiesel.
Saying he plans to employ workers with a background as paper mill workers because the skills are "easily transferable to our needs," Harrison advocated not only for green jobs but also for green partnerships.
"With the proposed biotech facility at the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority site, somewhere along the way, there might be some overlap. It's a nice nexus — a plant at PEDA that could develop ways to use algae to create biodiesel and our plant right here to take advantage of it," he said.
For Kevin Schulte, the founder and vice president of business development of Sustainable Energy Development Inc., which will work with the newly formed Eos Ventures LLC in Hancock, expanding by more than 200 percent in the next few years is far from a dream.
"There's a fundamental reality that we have to green-up energy production, energy conservation and energy consumption. We have to change from a business-as-usual approach to these green-collar jobs," said Schulte, whose Ontario, N.Y.-based company will take on seven large projects in Massachusetts this year.
Windsmiths Wanted
The only roadblock to expansion is a lack of "windsmiths," the workers who can fix wind turbines.
"There's a tremendous need and a big shortage. It's a good, well-paying job and there's a massive need for them," said Schulte.
SED, which oversees the design, development, construction and maintenance of wind turbine projects, currently employs 17 people, all perfect examples of green-collar workers.
Tyler Fairbank, left, Brian Fairbank and Kevin Schulte. [iBerkshires file] |
"I certainly expect to grow my own company significantly. There's more interest in wind power and we've helped to bring out a niche in the market that's burgeoning here in the Northeast," Schulte said.
The green economy is being spurred on in the state by a $50 million Green Jobs bill unveiled by House Speaker Rep. Salvatore DiMasi, D-Boston, last month. In the bill, Dimasi calls for a $25 million seed grant program that will award grants between $2 million and $5 million per year, a $2.5 million clean energy fellowship program for entrepreneurs to gain experience in the green sector and $12.5 million in work-force development initiatives that includes $2 million per year to higher-education training programs.
"The bottom line is to create jobs," said Rep. Daniel Bosley, D-North Adams, who expects to see the bill in his Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies in the coming weeks.
In his March 18 announcement, Dimasi said the act was in line with the state's reputation as an environmental steward.
"This program will create new clean energy companies, attract local venture capital and deliver huge benefits to the commonwealth in new jobs and revenue," Dimasi said then. "Through our efforts, I believe we can keep these jobs here in Massachusetts, the birthplace of innovation."
While the Legislature makes progress toward promoting green-collar jobs on the state level, some here are ready to jump right in.
Nancy Nylen, the associate director of CET, said she plans on having a significant role in encouraging the green economy.
"We look forward to working with municipalities who are evaluating the benefits of attracting new business and business expansion in these fields. And, as educational institutions strive to better prepare their students, we look forward to having an advisory role and assisting with training," said Nylen.
"I'm hoping Western Massachusetts, especially Berkshire County, gets a reputation for being green," said Harrison.
|
|
Enter your email address below to receive our FREE iBerkshires.com Newsletter
|
