By Jim Hartman
Guest opinion
February 12, 2010
Michael Barone’s recent editorial (Daily Tidings, Feb. 5) is a reckless and uninformed criticism of climate change science.

His first charge comes from examining 13 years of stolen e-mails from British climate scientists and taking them out of context to show global warming has been overstated. On close inspection the charges are false; you can find details at FactCheck.org under “Climategate.” Scientists are accused of “hiding a decline in temperatures” when they are really referring to recent tree ring data being less accurate than instrument-measured temperatures, which continue to rise.

If Barone wants to find “corruption” in the climate change debate he should look at the campaign started around 1990 by the industries whose huge profits depend on fossil fuels. This is detailed by Sharon Begley in the Newsweek article “The Truth About Denial” (Aug. 15, 2007), by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ross Gelbspan in his 2004 book “Boiling Point” and by Al Gore in his recent book “Our Choice.”

Compared to their profits, it has been a bargain for giants such as Exxon to sow doubt by giving a mere $20 million to disinformation groups such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Information Council on the Environment, the Western Fuels Association and the American Petroleum Institute. Exxon continues to support more than two dozen disinformation groups, even after pledging to stop.

When we see the “Climategate” slander break right before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, we know the denial machine is still undermining our best source of knowledge: science.

Scientists constantly critique each other’s work and the most solid ideas survive. This makes scientists conservative in their claims. The reliability of this process and the importance of this issue at hand was recently recognized when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize.

But Barone knows better. He goes all the way back to an uncorrected typo in a 1996 report and unsubstantiated claims by a Canadian analyst to claim the IPCC does not correct mistakes or rely on peer-reviewed journals.

Does Mr. Barone rely on science to build his computer, car or office building? Does he rely on medical science when he faces illness? Science is a tool we use to handle complex problems. Without science we attempt to solve difficult problems with bad information.

As California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “If 98 doctors say my son is ill and needs medication and two say, ‘No, he doesn’t, he is fine,’ I will go with the 98. It’s common sense — the same with global warming. We go with the majority, the large majority.”

The vast majority of climate scientists see the earth inevitably warming an additional two degrees Celsius. Above this level we face a totally unmanageable situation that will take humanity back to the dark ages. It may be tempting to ignore this reality and rake in millions while you can. A more mature response would be prompt action guided by science.

Jim Hartman is a local high school science teacher who has been teaching about global warming for more than 20 years. He has lived in Ashland since 1992.

Contact:
Brad Collins, ASES, 303.443.3130 x102
Roger Bezdek, MISI, 202.889.1324
Report: Tackling climate change nets 4.5 million jobs

ASES/MISI analysis shows that renewable energy and
energy efficiency can reduce U.S. carbon emissions 60-80%,
generate millions of jobs and are revenue neutral or better

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/22/2009) – A new report suggests that tackling climate change will be a major net job creator for the U.S. economy. According to the report, aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency can net up to 4.5 million new U.S. jobs by 2030 and provide the greenhouse gas emission reductions necessary to tackle climate change.

The report entitled, Estimating the Jobs Impact of Tackling Climate Change, was released today during a news conference in Washington, D.C. The study was released by the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) based in Boulder and Management Information Services, Inc. (MISI) based in Washington, D.C.

The report can be found at: www.ases.org/climatejobs

According to the analysis, renewable energy and energy efficiency deployment costs would be revenue neutral or better as costs to implement the technologies are offset by savings from lower energy bills, making total net costs near zero.

“The twin challenges of climate change and economic stagnation can be solved by the same action—broad, aggressive, sustained deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency,” said Brad Collins, ASES’ Executive Director, “the solution for one is the solution for the other.”

This jobs report offers the most detailed analysis yet on the potential role of the new energy economy in tackling climate change.

Report findings show that:

* Aggressive deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency can net 4.5 million new jobs by 2030. These jobs are not limited to certain regions or sectors – they are widely dispersed throughout the U.S. in virtually all industries and occupations.
* Hot jobs spurred by this new economic growth span a diverse range of skills and experience and include: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, administrative assistants, machinists, cashiers, management analysts, civil engineers, and sheet metal workers.
* Renewable energy and energy efficient technologies could displace approximately 1.2 billion tons of carbon emissions annually by 2030 – the amount scientists believe is necessary to prevent the most dangerous consequences of climate change.
* Approximately 57% of carbon emissions reductions would be from energy efficiency and 43% would be from renewable energy.
* Energy efficiency measures can allow U.S. carbon emissions to remain about level through 2030, while renewable technologies can provide large reductions in carbon emissions below current levels
* Industries showing the largest job gains include: construction, farming, professional services, public sector, retail, truck transportation, fabricated metals and electrical equipment.
* The construction industry directly benefits from almost all the growing renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors as well as from improvements in overall economic growth due to energy savings. Farming directly benefits from biomass and biofuel technology growth.
* Many of these jobs can not be easily outsourced due to the on-site nature required by these roles.
* The greatest numbers of renewable energy jobs are generated by solar photovoltaics, biofuels, biomass, and concentrating solar power sectors.

The report suggests that policy can play a significant role in both generating jobs and mitigating carbon emissions.

“For job growth the status quo is no match for innovation,” said Mr. Collins. “Congress can help get the economy back on track with smart energy policy – reduce energy consumption in buildings by 50%; adopt an aggressive national renewable portfolio standard; commit to end dependence on foreign oil by 2025; and implement an upstream cap and auction system to manage greenhouse gases at the points where they first enter the energy economy.”

This report analyzed the job potential of improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry, and assessed six renewable energy technologies: concentrating solar power, photovoltaics, wind power, biomass, biofuels, and geothermal power. Estimates in this report refer to net jobs since advancing new energy technologies can both create new jobs and displace jobs from less efficient industries. This report suggests that, in total, more than 4.5 million more jobs can be created by tackling climate change than would be lost.

This new report builds on the findings of ASES’ groundbreaking 2007 report Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.: Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions From Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030, edited by Chuck Kutscher.

The new report and the 2007 report can be found online at: www.ases.org/climatejobs

About the American Solar Energy Society
Established in 1954, the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is the nation’s leading association of solar professionals and grassroots advocates. Supported by more than 12,000 members, ASES advances research, education, and policy. ASES publishes the award-winning SOLAR TODAY magazine, presents the National Solar Conference, rallies citizens to build a Solar Nation, and leads the National Solar Tour – the world’s largest grassroots solar event. www.ases.org

About Management Information Services, Inc
Management Information Services, Inc (MISI) is an internationally recognized, Washington D.C.-based economic research and management consulting firm with expertise in economic forecasting, analysis of energy, environmental and electric utility issues and labor markets. www.misi-net.com

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/wind-power-rotating-skyscraper/

Dynamic Architecture
www.youtube.com
This Dynamic Architecture building by David Fisher will be constantly in motion changing its shape. It will also generate electric energy for itself. more at http://www.dynamicarchitecture.net See more …

A proposed initiative to suspend California’s landmark legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emission was cleared by the secretary of state’s office late Wednesday to begin collecting signatures.

A creator of the initiative, Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, said he has commitments of $600,000 from business interests for a campaign to qualify the measure for the ballot.

The initiative would suspend implementation of Assembly Bill 32, which called for reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

Logue and other opponents have argued that AB 32 would be extremely costly to businesses and take a heavy toll on the state’s economy.

The proposed initiative would suspend the state’s greenhouse-gas reduction requirements until California’s unemployment rate, currently above 12 percent, falls to 5.5 percent or less for four consecutive quarters.

To qualify for the November ballot, backers of the initiative must collect 433,971 voter signatures by June 24. To qualify for a 2011 special election or a 2012 statewide election, the deadline is July 5, the secretary of state’s office said.
Posted by Jim Sanders

So you want a green career?
The giant push for eco-friendly practices has created job opportunities for those with little or no experience.

By Tiffany Hsu
November 15, 2009

Although the recession has emptied shopping malls and filled jobless centers, the call has only gotten louder for renewable energy, environmentally gentle products and eco-friendly practices — and for people to make all of that happen.

 President Obama has said that he hopes to create 5 million green jobs within a decade. The U.S. Conference of Mayors estimates that the “green economy” could account for as much as 10% of job growth over the next 30 years.

The job description casts a wide net. The green ranks can include autoworkers making hybrid cars, building consultants, home energy auditors, environmental studies professors, wind turbine engineers, lawyers for biofuel companies and many more.

Some will be new positions; others will involve workers from traditional industries tweaking their former skills.

 So here’s a look at where to find green jobs, how to prepare for them and how to land a spot.



The rundown



Even before the recession, the green-jobs market was growing at a faster pace than overall employment in most states, with California leading the trend, experts say. The growth rate of green jobs nationwide was 9.1% from 1998 to 2007, compared with a 3.7% increase for all jobs during the same period, according to a recent report from the Pew Charitable Trusts.

A UC Berkeley study concluded that “the renewable energy sector generates more jobs per megawatt of power installed, per unit of energy produced and per dollar of investment, than the fossil fuel-based energy sector.”

Even bastions of traditional industries, including the United Steelworkers union, support teaching green skills to preserve manufacturing and combat outsourcing.

Billions of dollars from clean-tech venture capitalists have poured into California — $3.3 billion in 2008, more than double the amount in 2007, according to Palo Alto research group Next 10.

There’s room for workers of all backgrounds and income brackets on that rising tide. In 2007, the nearly 125,500 clean-energy workers in California were pulling in $21,000 to $111,000, Pew found.



Daniel Morabito, 29, who was recently hired as a solar panel installer, said his salary at SolarCity is competitive with and far more stable than his paycheck from his previous commission-based job closing film deals. Now he has full benefits, stock options and more potential for long-term growth, he said.

After spending three years wearing a suit and tie in a downtown Los Angeles office, the Hermosa Beach resident recently toiled with two co-workers on top of a Westwood home.

Since June, the Foster City, Calif., company has hired 120 people, 41 of them in Southern California. An additional 180 hirings are expected in the next three months.

Morabito had no experience working with electrical wiring, but he researched the company and marched into the SolarCity warehouse with his resume, he said.

”Everyone’s talking about solar these days,” he said. “I missed being outside and really wanted to work with my hands. But I didn’t know what to expect.”

And now, a splash of cold water: Despite the potential of the green industry, the economic rough patch has saturated the job market with applicants.

And some researchers caution that the green economy’s potential has been exaggerated.

”Indeed, the green jobs literature claims resemble the promises of long-term financial prosperity offered by Ponzi schemes,” concluded a study titled “Green Jobs Myths,” released by the University of Illinois and Case Western Reserve University.

The range

Green positions run from the predictable, such as eco-activism work, to more unconventional careers.

”Nobody really knows what green jobs are anyway,” said Tom Savage, a managing partner at Bright Green Talent, a job-search firm in San Francisco. “There’s a whole gradient of color between the greenest jobs and the non-green. But it’s more important to get excited that more jobs are greening in general.”

Many of those positions involve skills that can be transferred from other lines of work.

Some companies are scooping up laid-off employees from other industries. Serious Materials in Sunnyvale, Calif., which makes energy-saving construction materials and has the ambitious goal of avoiding 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions, bought a bankrupt window company in Pennsylvania in January and rehired some of the workers.



Green job seekers need to be imaginative. Potential employers can be found in unexpected areas, even the adult entertainment industry, said Alliyah Mirza, who launched her Earth Erotics website out of Portland, Ore., three years ago.

Demand for her wares — natural lubricants, recycled-rubber whips and plastic-free sex toys, among them — has grown at a rate that is “almost hard to keep up with,” she said. Mirza’s suppliers include massage oil manufacturers and glass makers that are exploring eco-friendly products.

”As the market grows, there will be a huge open field,” she said.

Sometimes, switching into a green job can cause culture shock.

Although pulling solar panel installers and engineers from roofing and construction industries is usually painless, former home builders used to high profits can be flummoxed by the low-margin, volume-driven nature of the solar industry, said Angiolo Laviziano, chief executive of REC Solar.

The San Luis Obispo company, which started in 1997 with fewer than 10 people, is constantly hiring salespeople and marketers and expanding its crew of more than 400 installers, Laviziano said. Despite a “mixed year” that has included layoffs at the company and a recession, REC has hired 40 employees this year.

But Laviziano, a former investment banker, has also run into trouble finding qualified applicants for mid- to senior-level management. One position, which would involve leading a commercial sales team to make pitches to big-box retailers and government facilities, has been unfilled for half a year.



Training



Around two-thirds of all energy-efficiency jobs in 2004 were considered middle-skill, or requiring less than a bachelor’s degree. Meanwhile, 13% of positions were high-skill and 21% were low-skill, according to a report last month from the Workforce Alliance.

Sometimes, previous green experience is a plus, while other companies prefer to train their new hires on-site. Businesses such as Boots on the Roof in Fremont, Calif., are springing up to offer green courses and certification.

The nonprofit Solar Energy International has a seven-acre campus in Colorado, online courses and worldwide workshops on sustainable building and transportation, hydro and wind turbine maintenance and more. The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners and Pacific Gas & Electric Co.’s PowerPathway program offer similar sessions.

CleanEdison has educated thousands of workers in green building practices, including the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard and energy auditing.

Community colleges also are feeding the boom.

Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa is developing a solar installation certification program, with one course already filled to capacity. Water purification and chemical technology are among the certificate and degree programs at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.

Several for-profit schools have jumped into such training. Anaheim University’s Kisho Kurokawa Green Institute offers several graduate-level certificates and degrees, many of them online.

The unemployed could be eligible for federal grant money for green jobs training.

This summer, the Labor Department released guidelines for distributing $500 million in grants to boost energy efficiency and renewable energy employment. For more information on funding, job seekers should call a One-Stop or WorkSource career center.

Choosing a program can be like trying to infiltrate a secret society, said Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, chief executive of Green for All, a group dedicated to creating a clean energy economy. Caution is key, she said, because some recent entrants to the training business might not have a deep faculty bench and not all jobs require a major investment.

”The skills involved are not as advanced as most people think,” she said. “Most can be achieved through a minimal amount of training.”



Getting in



Some industries, such as algae-based biofuels, are still relatively new and focused on research and development instead of aggressive expansion.

But there are open doors even there, said Riggs Eckelberry, chief executive of OriginOil Inc. The Los Angeles company has only 10 full-time employees, most of them scientists with doctorates, and expects to have only 30 at its peak.

The biofuel market is a magnet for start-ups, which tend to hire in waves as they launch, Eckelberry said. Interested applicants should join networking groups to keep up to date on company debuts and try to slip in by wangling an internship.

”Just get into any company and get some experience on any level,” he said. “Don’t worry too much about whether the company is going to succeed or blow up, because all those people will create your network.”

Successful applicants can also demonstrate their interest by reading about clean tech, renewable energy or the general green market on online forums such as www.greencollarblog.org. Informational sessions at industry conventions are helpful, as is visiting companies.

”Some of the very best people were proactive and just came up to us and gave us their resumes,” said Laviziano of REC Solar. “People who have done their research always impress me.”

Some specialist positions require rigid discipline, while start-ups and consumer-focused businesses often look for people who are quick on their toes. But experts said most employers, especially more established eco-organizations, are gradually shifting to candidates who are more professional and profit-minded than just those with raw energy. Enthusiasm, however, is still key.

”Companies are looking for someone who’s passionate, who’s looking to find meaning in the day-to-day job,” Savage of Bright Green Talent said. “And that’s perhaps unique to the green sector.”



tiffany.hsu@latimes.com

The first “test” pizzas were officially cooked in the oven.

Many people have offered advice and have been inspired by Vicky to build their very own oven!

Vicky's homeade pizza oven

The work in progress (check out how she built it!)

Lots of hard work....