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As the US economy struggles to climb out of the current downturn, there's a new emphasis on creating "green-collar" jobs which could be especially beneficial to California. {mp3remote}http://media.krcb.org/audio/nbr/5-7-09.mp3{/mp3remote}
Ian Kim (left) works at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights as Director of the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign. He advocates for policies in the city of Oakland and statewide in California to create "green-collar" jobs (quality, career-track, manual labor jobs in industries like renewable energy, water and energy efficiency, and green building), especially for low-income young adults and those with barriers to employment. Ian holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He will be one of the keynote speakers at this year's Sustainable Enterprise Conference May 8 at Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park.
Tickets are still available for event, using this downloadable registration form.
The availability of funding for green jobs is a tremendous opportunity, says Ian Kim, but with that comes a new set of challenges.
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The Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Rights runs cutting-edge, solutions-driven campaigns for justice, peace and opportunity in our cities. The nationally-renowned Green-Collar Jobs Campaign works to leverage the explosive growth of the new green economy to create meaningful career opportunities for poor people and people of color. Statewide, the Campaign advocates for green-collar policy solutions for California, in partnership with major labor, environmental, business, and education institutions, that can create many thousands of good jobs as well as a strong infrastructure for green workforce development.
Nationally, the Campaign played a central role in the passage of the federal Green Jobs Act of 2007, which authorizes 5 million annually for green job training, with million specifically allocated to "pathways out of poverty" programs.
The Sonoma County Water Agency is taking a close look at the energy-producing potential of wave power off the Sonoma County coast.
The first step in the process of determining the potential for wave power energy off the Sonoma County coast is conducting a series of baseline studies of the possible locations for such facilities. That, explains Cordell Stillman, SCWA's Capital Projects Manager, is what these federal permits will enable.
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The "sea snake" seen at left is one type of wave power generator already installed and operating off the northern coast of Portugal. Several others are also in development, including the "aquabouy" shown below.
Preliminary estimates suggest that wave power off the Sonoma coast could generate as much as 200 megawatts of electricity. Stillman says that represents a sizable portion of the county's current energy consumption.
{mp3remote}http://media.krcb.org/audio/nbr/usage.mp3{/mp3remote}The map below shows (in orange) the three offshore areas where the potential, and potential impacts, of wave power generation will be studied.
You can post comments regarding the study permits for each of the three locations shown above at the website of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
John Muir (right) died 95 years ago, but he still speaks to modern day California. And not just through his writings.
Retired Methodist minister Don Baldwin (seen here in character) has embraced the role of ground-breaking environmentalist John Muir in public appearances throughout northern California and beyond.
Even after studying biographies and Muir's own extensive writings, Don Baldwin remains amazed by the early environmentalist's ability to survive handily in the wilderness with the most minimal supplies.
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Despite his capacity for extended solo sojourns, Baldwin reports that Muir was also a highly social person, when he came back down from the mountains.
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"John Muir" will be appearing twice in Sonoma County on Sunday, April 19th, first at the 11 am service at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Santa Rosa and at 2 pm in Sebastopol for the annual Earth Elders event (left) at Luther Burbank's historic Gold Ridge Farm.
An ongoing dispute between beekeepers and citrus growers in the Central Valley raises questions that could profoundly affect agriculture throughout the state.
Read the state's proposed rulemaking language here.
Serge Labesque, with one of his hives.
There's also a solid, dispassionate summary of the whole issue on the Civil Eats blog.
Petaluma's Libery 4-H club maintains a comprehensive website on beekeeping basics.
Genetically modified organisms are not the villain in the newest mystery novel by Susan Arnout Smith. But they play a key role all the same.
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Smith says she had a background awareness of the GMO issue, but began to see it in a new light-as potential subject matter-when she witnessed an impassioned public demonstration by concerned activists.
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Some longtime NPR listeners may recognize Smith (right) from her past work as a regular essayist on Weekend Edition Sunday. That's something she stopped doing a few years ago, as books plays and screenplays demanded all her available time, but she still thinks of her NPR experience fondly.
