Green Career Central Blog

Jump Start Your Green Career Workshop - Last Chance!

This is your last chance to sign up for our 6-week intensive workshop! Sign up now!

Jump Start Your Green Career
Six week workshop by phone

Begins Tuesday, Nov 3rd

Are you ready to move your search for your green career forward? In this 6-week intensive teleclass workshop, facilitated by Carol McClelland and her team of career coaches, you’ll bring your green niche into focus and create a personalized action plan to help you get the results you desire. Achieving both of these outcomes helps you shorten your path to your green career.

If you wonder if this workshop is a good fit for you, please set up an appointment with Carol to talk about where you are in your process, and what you can expect from the workshop. Click to the full description for details about the workshop and how to set up a conversation with Carol.

Get more information and SIGN UP NOW!

Green Career Trends: Using CO2 in Geothermal Energy, Using Electricity in Making Algae Biodiesel, Using Software to Accurately Measure Power Consumption

Greenfire Energy (based in Salt Lake City, UT) has a new take on geothermal energy.  Instead of pumping water into rock fissures to be heated and using the resulting steam to spin a turbine, they use carbon dioxide, (CO2).   CO2 from coal fired plants could be used in this process, creating co-generation stations with transmission lines already in place.  Geology majors interested in green careers should know that in the U.S. geothermal power generation is a $3 billion industry making it the same size as the current solar market. Geothermal is a round-the-clock operation that can be used by utilities for baseload power.  25% of the energy used in Iceland comes from geothermal.

Organic Fuels (based in Houston, TX) is using electricity to break down algae cell walls to release the oil inside.  Would using electricity be cheaper than other methods of extraction?  Organic Fuels estimates they can produce biodiesel for $1.50 a gallon.  

While Google and Microsoft have developed software programs to give homeowners the ability to manage their power consumption, ScientificConservation Inc. (SCI) has created a program for institutional and commercial buildings to allow owners and users to measure their power usage.  Using fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence neural network technologies, SCI  is able to accurately measure a buildings energy use under a wide variety of operating conditions.  This information can be used to increase the energy efficiency of the building.  (SCI, based in Berkeley, CA, is accepting resumes here.)

Recovery.gov 2.0: New Local Details about Stimulus Money Distributions

Do you wonder where the stimulus money has gone in your local area?

Do you wonder how much more money is going to flow into your community?

Do you want to SEE where the stimulus money going?

If so, then you are going to be excited about this week's tip, where Carol shares some quick and easy ways to glean good information for your job search from the updated Recovery.gov website.

Click here to read or listen to the article.

What You Need to Know About Green Careers

FOR CAREER COUNSELORS/COACHES ONLY

What You Need to Know About Green Careers
A Free Introductory Call
November 13, 2009
10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern

Now that I've finished writing Green Careers For Dummies, I'm ready to share what I know about green careers with you! To give you a content-rich training call with information you can use immediately in your work with clients searching for green careers, I’d love to hear your answer to this question: What is the most pressing question you have about the green economy and green careers? I'll sort through your questions and prepare an integrated presentation that covers the topics you most want to know about.

Click here for more information.

Follow the Green Money: $898 Million Invested in Clean Tech in Q3, Solar Co. Going Public, Building Retrofits May Reach $15 Billion by 2014

According to a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers, venture capitalists invested $898 million during the third quarter in clean tech start up companies.  This was an 89% increase in amount invested from the previous quarter and an increase of 16% in the number of deals made.  The clean tech sector is made up of renewable energy, pollution reduction, recycling and conservation industries.

Specialized Technology Resources (based in Enfield, CT) is making a move to become a public company.  Depending upon share price and number of shares sold, STR could raise between $184.5 million and $212.2 million in its initial public offering.  STR manufactures material that protects solar cells inside solar panels.  Customers for this product include First Solar and SunPower. (Jobs Openings at STR)

Non residential building retrofits could become a $15 billion market by 2014 according to a report from McGraw Hill Construction research.  The report concluded that the retrofit market could become a larger market than energy efficient new construction for designers and contractors. 

Green Career Trends: Using Hybrids as Taxis in Phoenix, Gov't. Program to Retrofit Homes, LED Streetlights Save Energy

Clean Air Cabs will be providing taxi service to the greater Phoenix area using only hybrid vehicles. Also, 10 trees per month per hybrid cab, will be planted as well as carbon credits will be purchased to offset emissions.  Will these green transportation ideas spread to cities other than New York and San Francisco?

Vice President Biden announced the Recovery Through Retrofit program to make more homes more energy efficient.  Estimates are that 20% of carbon emissions come from homes in the US. The program may use PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs to help home owners finance their energy upgrades. Companies such as Serious Materials, Hycrete, E2E Materials, Adura Technologies among others should see an uptick in their future.

Eco Fit (based in Lenexa, KS) has developed a LED street light that fits into current street light fixtures.  Benefits include the ease of installation, low price,  long life and less energy consumption by LED's over sodium vapor lights.

Green Career Tip - What One Thing Can You Do Today to Move Toward Your Green Career?

Are you struggling with how to balance your current job, your personal life, and your quest for a green career?

Any time you commit to making a career change you are faced with a seemingly endless list of tasks to handle. There are so many additional tasks to include in your daily life, you may feel a bit overwhelmed with how to get it all done.

Are you ready for the right plan to help you reach your green career? Well, here it is!

In this week's tip, Carol shares several strategies she developed that allow you to accomplish your goals bit by bit.

Read or listen now and develop your plan!

Follow the Green Money: Siemens Has $900 Million in Windmill Orders, Michigan Invests $250 Million in Suniva Mfg. Plant, GE Invests in 3 Clean-Tech Start-Ups

Siemens has been awarded approximately $900 million in orders for 246 wind turbines in the US and Canada. The total energy capacity is 565 MW, enough to supply power to 170,000 North American homes. Siemens has also purchased solar thermal manufacturer, Solel, for an estimated $418 million.

In an effort to revitalize its sagging manufacturing industries and adopt green technology, the state of Michigan has invested $250 million in Suniva's (based in Atlanta, GA) new photovoltaic cell manufacturing plant in Thomas Township.  (Job Openings at Suniva)

GE Energy Financial Services has invested in three start-up companies that produce clean tech products or software. Solar Edge, manufactures products to increase the efficiency of solar panels through monitoring.  Tendril has developed energy management systems for homeowners. Grid Net produces software for the Smart Grid.

Green Career Trends: Tres Amigas Proposes Grid Super Hub, Panasonic Develops 1.5KWh Lithium-ion Battery, MIT Students Create Roof Shingle That Changes Color

Tres Amigas (based in Santa Fe, NM) is proposing to link the three national power girds, the eastern, the western and Texas.  By using superconducting cables (chilled to a minus 300 Fahrenheit) made by American Superconductor Corp, Tres Amigas will create a super substation hub that will increase the carrying capacity of the grid, making it easier to get renewable energy cross country. (Job openings at American Superconductor Corp.)

By binding together standard lithium-ion battery cells, Panasonic (based in Secaucas, NJ) is able to produce a 1.5 KWh battery that could be used to store energy produced by solar panels or wind turbines among other uses. Panasonic has also been reportedly selected by electric car maker Tesla Motors to provide batteries for their new Model S.

A team of MIT students has developed a roof tile that changes color depending upon the season. Thermeleon (rhymes with chameleon) shingles will reflect the summer heat by turning white and absorb the suns heat by turning black in the winter.  Studies indicate the shingles could save as much as 20% of cooling costs when in their white state.

Bioneers Speakers Streaming Live Today, Saturday, Sunday

Bioneers, is a Northern California organization that brings environmental, social and scientific thought leaders together in an annual conference to discuss solutions to dilemmas using nature as model and inspiration as well as human innovation. 

This year Bioneers will be live streaming two speakers each day of the conference.  On Friday Sarah James and Michael Polan will be speaking beginning at 11:30 am PT  On Saturday Jason McLennan and Lily Yeh will be speaking beginning at 9:00 am PT. On Sunday Jerome Ringo and Annie Leonard will be speaking at 11:30 am PT.

Here is the link that will enable you to view these speakers.