Earth Day April 22nd -Trying to be greener

Being green and saving the planet was at the forefront of the media in the first half of 2008. With a rapidly deteriorating economic situation the recession has supplanted the environment as the main issue of concern for most people. Save yourself before trying to save the planet is the new motivation for millions of unemployed workers around the planet.

To make matters worse the green movement has not been very successful in making sustainable development easier to understand for the average consumer. It is often difficult for consumers to make sense of all the jargon behind carbon footprint, cap and trade or simple recycling issues. For Earth Day we suggest a simpler approach: JUST TRY TO BE A LITTLE GREENER.

Most consumers want to be greener but cannot necessarily be green all the time. Let’s face it we cannot always Reduce, Reuse or Recycle. Starbucks for instance cannot provide recyclable cups before 2015 and how many of you carry a clean mug in the car?

Earth Day is celebrated every year on April 22nd. It was founded in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, and was celebrated in more than 150 countries. On the 22nd of April, 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated during the first Earth Day, with a goal to promote a healthy, sustainable environment.

We suggest five simple ways to be greener for Earth Day and apply a simple and somewhat cliché principle: Think global, Act local.

1.Do the right thing: Recycle as much as possible. Not everything is recyclable and until it is we will just have to do our best to minimize what ends up in garbage. You can also buy goods made from recycled materials

2. Water is life: Think about it and conserve it. It is a simple as turning the tap off when you brush your teeth. Avoid single-use water bottles and carry a reusable bottle.

3. Shop for the environment: cut down on packaging. Buy reusable shopping bags and say no to single service plastic bags

4. Don’t litter and don’t tolerate people who do. Remember you are only a passenger on this Earth.You wouldn’t throw garbage in your car and sit in it.

5. Leave the car at home from time to time: Take the bus or walk today. Buy a bicycle and use it for small errands.

Earth Day 2007 was one of the largest Earth Days to date, with an estimated billion people participating in the activities in thousands of places around the world. Imagine what a billion, mobilized and motivated consumers can do in a day to Reduce, Reuse or Recycle and keep doing it the rest of the year. It is all about being just a little greener.

What is a green-collar job and where can I get one?

There is a lot of talk in the media about “green-collar” jobs, the road to recovery and renewed prosperity through such jobs. Hundreds of thousand of unemployed workers are asking themselves two questions: What is a "green-collar" job? And where can I get one? According to Lucy Blake of the Apollo Alliance; which is helping to transition the economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy: “A green-collar job is, in essence, a blue-collar job that has been upgraded to address the environmental challenges of our country”.


In reality “green-collar jobs” are old blue-collar jobs lost in the past six months across all industries; that are being created in new green industries such as clean energy(solar, wind turbines) or sustainable development-focused companies. The reason these jobs are so important to the new economy is two-fold. First they are an integral part of the stimulus package put forward by the Obama administration focused on infrastructure and construction. From winterizing home and providing better insulation to installing solar panels electrician, plumbers and carpenters become “green economy” workers.
According to Van Jones - founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and of the Oakland (Calif.) Apollo Alliance and who also advises President Barack Obama on green jobs - green-collar jobs are manual-labor jobs that can't be outsourced. "You can't take a building you want to weatherize, put it on a ship to China and then have them do it and send it back," Jones said in a recent New York Times interview. "So we are going to have to put people to work in this country - weatherizing millions of buildings, putting up solar panels, constructing wind farms. Those green-collar jobs can provide a pathway out of poverty for someone who has not gone to college."

The second reason has to do with the new “Energy Technology” revolution. The environmental and energy challenges will be around long after we are out of this recession and into a strong recovery. There is a “Triple E” crisis with the Economy, Environment and Energy creating the perfect storm. Green-collar jobs are important to get us out of the Economy crisis but will be critical to meet the challenges facing the Environment and Energy crisis. The opportunities offered by a greener economy focused on sustainable development are numerous and span many industries. It is all about energy efficiency, better management of resources from waste to manufacturing with a closed-loop approach.

Green-collar jobs are being created as we speak with entrepreneurs finding opportunities in the new economy based on sustainable development. From the auto industry with hybrid-technology cars to carpets made with recycled materials green products need green-collar workers to make them. Opportunities abound for eco-innovation in a world where consumers are becoming greener. The challenge is for everyone to become a little greener and to seek and buy eco-products which will in turn create green jobs.