There's a real push to define green jobs right now. I understand the desire and the need for various parties to know what the green jobs are and how many of them there are going to be.
I also think we need to be aware of the larger picture. Here are a few reality checks that may give us some additional insight into why it is difficult, if not impossible to articulate all the pieces and parts of the green economy right now.
Reality Check #1 – Look at All that Has Happened Since An Inconvenient Truth Was Released in 2006
Three years ago this month, before An Inconvenient Truth became part of our national and international psyche, very few people were talking about green jobs or green careers. When the documentary was first released in May 2006 and became the fourth highest grossing documentary to date, we were focused on changing our light bulbs.
Now, less than three years later, look where we are! Think of the changes the nation and the world have gone through with respect to environmental thinking, climate change, and taking green actions.
Reality Check #2 – We Are in the Early Stages of a New Industrial Revolution
Thomas Friedman, author of Hot, Flat, and Crowded and Green: The New Red, White and Blue, says that we are on the cusp of another Industrial Revolution. As forces of the global economy, the population explosion, and the climate come together, it’s going to be critical that we evolve how we do business and how we live on the planet. We are running out of other options.
An industrial revolution is not just a new industry showing up on the horizon. We are in the very early stages of an entirely new way of living and working. This transformation isn’t going to happen over night. It can’t. There are too many factors, too many unknowns, and too much innovation to be able to pull all that is going on into a tidy little package with a green bow on top!
Out of curiosity, I did a little research on the “original” Industrial Revolution. There were actually a series of critical discoveries and shifts that took place:
• The late 1700’s (textiles, steam power, and iron)
• The mid to late 1800’s (steel, chemical industries, petroleum, electricity)
• Early 1900’s (automotive)
Remember Henry Ford’s assembly line? That assembly line didn’t just pop up in full form as you might have imagined from what you learned in school. It was the culmination of 150 years of technological enhancements and discoveries. The push for efficiencies in production and economies of scale led to a series of incremental changes that ultimately created a huge economic breakthrough.
The early stage discoveries and technological advances we are seeing in the green economy right now are just the tip of the iceberg (sorry, but icebergs are an important part of this story too!). We aren’t “there” yet. We don’t even fully comprehend yet where “there” is!
I don’t think it’s a bad thing that we can’t define the final, ultimate “there” of the green economy. I think it’s a sign we are onto something big.
In fact, I sincerely doubt that the people and generations who first invented a mechanized way to create fabric or steel could have accurately defined, counted and forecasted all of the jobs that would eventually be created as a result of their innovations. I bet they didn’t have clear job descriptions of these jobs either.
In an even more ironic twist of fate, I really doubt they could have anticipated that their actions back in the 1700’s, 1800’s, and early 1900’s would create the drastic circumstances that are now fueling the new Green Revolution.
Reality Check #3 – The Green Economy Is Evolving and Will Continue to Evolve for Decades to Come
If you are looking for the green economy to be in that tidy little package with the green bow on top…the one where
• All of the jobs are clearly defined
• The job descriptions and career paths are solidified
• The key technologies are identified
• All job growth is predictable
• And the return on investment is guaranteed…
You may be in for some surprises.
We (politicians, career counselors, journalists, states, companies, economists) don’t have a clear, crisp definition of green jobs yet. We can’t.
We are an economic age in motion. Technologies are evolving in front of our eyes and will continue to do so at a much faster rate than in the earlier Industrial Revolution. Multiple factors are coming together at this time to shift the way we interact with each other and the Planet.
This is not the time to stop, block, or prevent the flow of this evolution.
This is the time to facilitate the flow. Be alert. Prepare yourself for the future. Be nimble. Be ready to jump when your passions, skills, experience, and education are exactly what is needed to move the green economy forward.
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