An Education in Green: How We Take Next Crucial Step
by Kirsten Nelson-Johnson
On March 8th Dr. Henry Kelly, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, spoke to an audience of Stanford university students. His speech focused on how the United States fairs in the new green economy compared to the rest of the world. The US has far from the most highly trained workforce, and in fact we're the only country in the top 20 OECD countries where the average high school graduation rate is decreasing. Dr. Kelly sees signs that the United States has become static in university degrees and other countries are bypassing us as their citizens are getting degrees in increasingly sophisticated subjects needed to move forward in the clean energy sector.
“The bad news,” Dr. Kelly said, “is that America’s competitors in Asia and Europe are surging ahead to develop competitive clean energy industries and investing in a highly-trained and technically competent workforce.”
This situation we are now facing also presents a great opportunity to rebuild the economy around a sophisticated technology that's clean. However this opportunity rests on the ability to educate people who take advantage and fill this changing job market. It's something Kelly is incredibly concerned about.
The United States government is only just introducing federal funding for new training programs for "green collar" technicians, building trades, and manufacturing positions. While the Green Jobs Act of 2001 has advanced technical training programs at the nation's community colleges and technical schools, funding to inspire and empower students at four-year institutions as well as those already well into their careers has languished in Congress.
In 2009, President Obama’s FY2010 budget included a new Department of Energy and National Science Foundation-run program called RE-ENERGYSE, a national program aimed at strengthening America’s position in clean energy education. Despite the urgent need for such a program, Congressional appropriators rejected the $125 million funding request to fund the program. However, the Obama administration hasn’t relented and RE-ENERGYSE is back in the new FY2011 budget request and on its way to Congress. The $74 million program would be the first critical step to re-energize a new generation of scientists, innovators, manufacturers and entrepreneurs ready to tackle the United States’ energy concerns, and challenge competitors on a higher level.
With Asian and European competitors pulling farther and farther ahead in competitive clean technology sectors, the economic stakes of these investments are high. "There's little doubt we're in a race for our lives to maintain our productivity and competitive edge to keep high tech manufacturing here in the U.S." Dr. Kelly declared. The amount of funding and resources the US government will allocate has only just begun, and will target a wide variety of opportunities aimed at environmental innovators, engineers, and entrepreneurs needed to stay competitive in the clean energy race.
At times it can feel as if you've heard every argument for greening our economy, read every article on sustainable building practices and still don't know where to begin. The need to save the environment has ramped up in recent years and any excuses left behind from the last decade have melted away. Dr. Kelly's speech demonstrates that the gap between awareness and action must be filled with education. While many may wait for government intervention and incentives, the time has come to make educated decisions about going green.
The Environmental Institute of America (EIA) is one organization taking that next step to bring education to professionals and the public. Here are two of EIA's most recent partnerships:
New Partnership Between BOMA and EIA Brings Sustainability Education to Building Pros
