Green Streets Green Jobs Grants Expand Green Infrastructure and Boost Local Economies for 10 Maryland Towns

(sharing from the Bay Trust website)   The Chesapeake Bay Trust, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Department of the Environment announced the first-ever grant recipients of the collaborative Green Streets-Green Jobs Initiative, a program designed to promote green streets, urban green infrastructure, and green jobs as part of an overall community or watershed plan.  In total, 10 cities and towns were awarded $25,000-$35,000 grants to fund the planning and design of green infrastructure projects within the Chesapeake Bay and Anacostia watersheds. This announcement was made at the start of the EPA’s Green Streets-Green Jobs Forum, a two-day event in support of innovative, green infrastructure practices to restore urban waters, promote renewable energy and protect public health and safety.  

“The Green Streets-Green Jobs Initiative is a winner because it combines the expertise and resources of federal and state governments with the know-how of local communities to improve our environment by building green streets that reduce urban runoff,” said Senator Ben Cardin, a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.  “The communities that have been selected to receive these grants will be able to make significant upgrades to the urban landscape.”

Senator Cardin joined top officials from the EPA, Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources and Department of the Environment, local and regional technical experts and mayors from the selected towns to discuss plans for green street/green infrastructure projects that reduce polluted runoff and create green jobs in urban areas. The Green Streets-Green Jobs awardees include: BaltimoreCity, College Park, University Park, Capitol Heights, Bladensburg, Edmonston, Mount Rainier, Hyattsville, Cottage City and Colmar Manor. 

“Green infrastructure projects offer more cost-effective approaches to water protection while at the same time making our communities cleaner, healthier and more desirable places to live and work,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin.  “By managing rainwater as a resource instead of a problem, communities can save $27 for every $1 invested in green infrastructure.”

The Green Streets-Green Jobs Initiative, administered through the Trust’s Watershed Assistance Grant Program, supports the implementation of President Obama’s Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration Executive Order through the creation of “green streets.” A “green street” is a street that 1) minimizes impact through an approach that incorporates water quality, energy-efficiency, and other environmental best practices; 2) integrates a system of stormwater management to increase infiltration and/or reduce flow; 3) reduces the amount of water that is piped directly into streams; 4) makes the best use of the street tree canopy for stormwater interception, temperature mitigation and air quality improvement; 5) encourages pedestrian and/or bicycle access; and 5) provides an aesthetic advantage to a community.

“These mayors and towns are shining examples of community stewardship efforts that are taking hold across Maryland and across the broader Chesapeake Baywatershed,” said Allen Hance, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “The Trust looks forward to providing continued support for innovative green infrastructure projects that link together three outcomes sought by all communities: improved livability, a strengthened local economy and a healthier environment.”

A New Green Job Really Helps the Green Economy

As someone who has been seeking a new green professional position, I want to extend as much support to anyone else out there who might be looking as well.  Please contact me with any additional resources to share on www.ecostudio.info.

Local Green Collar Training Programs

A crucial starting point for the rejuvenation of our economy and getting many more in our workforce back to work, not to mention in jobs that create a sense of tremendous contribution, is to focus on building rapid, large-scale deployment of energy independence and employment training to support the green-energy industry in five key areas: 

• Energy Efficiency (50% savings in five years)
• Solar and wind (achieving an all-renewable electric grid)
• Plug-in electric hybrids-PHEVs- (to make up at least 20% of the U.S. fleet in ten years)
• Smart grid (rebuilding our aging electric grid with a smart grid that makes it easy to scale up energy efficiency and renewables)
• New national and state electric utility regulation and building codes that make it easy to scale up with efficiency, renewables, and PHEVs.

Green DMV is non-profit organization seeking to promote sustainability and green jobs in low-income communities across America as a pathway out of poverty. The organization was founded and self-funded by cofounders, Philip O’Neal and Rhon Hayes in 2007. The initial focus is our nation’s capital and the Washington Metropolitan Area (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia – DMV) to help influence policy change in the region that will spur sustainable green job growth and equitable environmental policies. Green DMV is fueled by a passion to ensure that the green economy is inclusive of all people.

Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s Green Zone Environmental Program (GZEP) is one of the largest green jobs training program for youth in the nation. GZEP introduces District youth, age 14 to 21, to the green job labor market, exposing them to numerous exciting career paths and offers academic enrichment opportunities. The program’s primary goal is to afford young adults an opportunity to develop the skills and work ethic necessary to succeed in the workplace. District youth workers participating in GZEP work on projects that have immeasurable sustainability benefits on the District.

The Green Builders Council of DC has embarked on the process of taking unprecedented steps to see that workers in DC are skilled in eco-friendly modes of construction. Through the creation and management of one of the city’s largest green jobs training programs, the development of the nation’s first green training module for contruction workers, and a unique weatherization program for DC youth, GBCDC is working to ensure ‘green building’ goes hand-in-hand with job creation and the strengthening of our local economy.

The BlueGreen Alliance is a national, strategic partnership between labor unions and environmental organizations dedicated to expanding the number and quality of jobs in the green economy.  The Alliance organizes the annual national conference GOOD JOBS GREEN JOBS

Listed below are some of the most commonly utilized sites for finding broader employment within areas of renewable energy, conservation, green building, fair trade and other areas of sustainability.

Business for Social Responsibility, a group that helps companies navigate sustainability issues, is a good place to start.  SustainableBusiness.com is an excellent source for employment because it broadly covers all sectors that impact sustainability:  government, renewable energy, efficiency, green building, green investing, and organics. Others are treehugger.com  and ecojobs.com, which include a broad array of positions from conservation to engineering to international opportunities.  The Fair Trade Federation Job Board lists opportunities with Fair Trade businesses within the FTF network of over 250 members.  Idealist.org focuses on the non-profit sector. Greenjobs.com focuses on the renewable fuel industry.  GreenBiz.com, Great Green Careers, Green Dream Jobs from Sustainable Business.com, Sustain Lane and GreenJobs.net also contain employment boards.  

The Green Collar Blog lists RECRUITERS who focus on social or environmental responsibility, they are also developing a list of green job training and education programs for later in 2011.

(below: Eco Studio offers a page consolidating these links – easy to share with a friend)

 Find a Green Job

And, since I am also looking for an incredible green job -  please extend my RESUME

to someone who might be interested in a stellar green and entrepreneurial professional.

A Conference Not to be Missed

The 2011 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference takes place February 8-10 at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Conference is the leading forum for sharing ideas and strategies for building a green economy that creates good jobs, reduces global warming and confronts other environmental problems, and secures America’s economic and environmental future. The 2010 Conference brought together nearly 3,000 people from across the country.

This year’s workshops represent important concentrations in building the green economy, including: Green Infrastructure and Transportation; State and Local Initiatives and Partnerships; Workforce, Economic Development and Youth Education; Emerging Green Sectors: Recycling, Chemicals, Water, Agriculture and Other Growing Industries; Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency; Business, Investments and New Markets; and Clean Energy Manufacturing. Speakers include EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, and Vice President Biden’s Chief Economic and Economic Advisor Jared Bernstein. For more, view the agenda.

Registration:   $175. Starting Monday (today), you can register for the Conference on-site only on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration will be held on the Lobby Level, adjacent to the Marriot Ballroom, Monday from 3:00 – 9:00 p.m., Tuesday from 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., and Wednesday from 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where:  Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in DC

When:   Tuesday – Thursday

For more information:  www.greenjobsconference.org/