Defining Green Jobs

We have all heard about Green careers.  We know that green collar jobs have purposes on many fronts from the environment to the economy to the ego.  On one hand, green collar jobs clean up the environment simply because of their thrust in making the world a greener place to live in. On the other, green collar jobs are expected to grow in the coming years with increased environmental awareness and increased federal funding.

All of these sound great in theory, of course. After all, there is no better job than one that can serve the ends of the economy, the environment and the ego.  The problem lies in the definition of green jobs, which continues to evolve with legislation, technology and common usage.  The definition can often range from the very narrow to the very inclusive, which muddies up the issue some more.

So, what exactly constitutes green collar jobs?  Well, there are only three criteria as agreed upon by industry insiders, which this article will try to break down.

Impact on Environmental Protection

Green collar jobs must either have direct or indirect impact on the well-being of the planet.  Thus, when employers make the job descriptions, certain goals must be met in the process.  It must be emphasized that the following goals need not be met in all instances just as long as the impact is one of protection of the environment.

Thus, green jobs achieve several of the following green goals:

     * It contributes to the generation and use of renewable energy.

    * It serves to lessen the levels of greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants and toxic materials.

    * It conserves natural resources such as water, land and energy.

    * It minimizes waste, be it in terms of recycling, reducing and reusing.

    * It decreases the use of dangerous materials either in the input or output sense.

    * It promotes biodiversity and the restoration of damaged ecosystems.

    * It minimizes humanity's negative impact on the planet.

Impact on the Economy 

Green collar jobs also exert an impact on the lagging economy.  Keep in mind that the Obama administration sees green jobs as one of the most effective ways to keep the economic recovery on track mainly through the so-called green stimulus plan, of which the tax incentives on the manufacturers of solar and wind systems is the latest of the bunch.

Proponents of the plan assert that at least 3.3 million jobs will be created by said tax breaks.  When you consider that the unemployment rate is now hovering at the painful 10 percent mark, this is welcome news indeed.

Impact on the Ego

We are, of course, talking about the personal ego.  Green careers can go a long way towards a happier workforce in many ways.  For one thing, unemployed workers will now have more job prospects.  Workers will also know that while they are filling up their pockets, they also own up to the responsibility of environmental protection.  Many people will say that, indeed, green collar jobs are a win-win situation for all of humanity.

Green jobs are in high demand nowadays.  One will do well to take the opportunities in the field for the sake of their own pockets, the economy and the environment.  Think of it as hitting three birds with one stone (No offense to the bird-lovers reading this article)