The New Energy Economy, Vermont and Colorado Parallels

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter at the 6th Annual American Renewable Energy Day (AREDAY) in Aspene last weekend recounted how he helped Barack Obama last year on the campaign trail to see the possibilities of a 'New Energy Economy' based on Colorado's success with it. Apparently it is due to 'marriage of sorts' between environmental and economic policy. He went on to discuss various success stories in the public and private sector since attaining office in 2006. His main focus was how to use the 'transition to clean energy as an economic engine'.

Last week Bernie Sanders chaired a Green Jobs Hearing in Montpelier, at the statehouse where he asked experts from private green oriented industry and similar Vermont public entities to speak about their work and vision integrating energy efficiency, sustainable energy and green jobs development together under the Green Collar economy umbrella. Sanders goal was to collect testimony to spread the word about clean energy job development policies happening in Vermont and how what we're doing is applicable for others nationwide.

Between Colorado and Vermont as green 'new energy economy' leaders there is a lot to learn other states can take away. The one thing that's hard to replicate however is the unique synergy of green thinking into the DNA of those who live and work in each State. This is partly due to long-held environmentally focused values, a culture awareness of the finitude of natural resources and willingness to have hard discussions together. Whether it's the lack of water for example in Colorado and rampant growth issues in metropolitan areas or stormwater versus acid rain in Vermont, aesthetic and visual impacts of Wind Energy vs. the Merits as renewable energy source and permitting reform, both States have a vital dialogue about these issues which spurs other conversations and intiatives such as the 'New Energy Economy' or 'Green Jobs' discussions.

This synergy of activism, involvement and innovation takes generations to develop. But with Colorado and Vermont's examples to follow among others, perhaps it might be easier for others to join in the conversation.

Interested in learning more? 

You can find us now at www.arocordisdesign.com, the website of our Montpelier, Vermont-based residential architecture firm practice Arocordis Design. If you want to contact us there, click on this link. 

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Reflecting on a Past soon to be our Future Again

Last summer seems so long ago now. It was a different world then. We were in the last few months of the outgoing Bush Administration, heavy into the Presidential campaign. Gas prices were still extremely high and there was a pervasive sense of urgency for change. It was especially so about energy use and moving as fast as possible towards energy independence and leaving behind a reliance on a fossil fuel based economy. Do you remember? How were you and your family behaving? We were kind of scared, spooked. We were all madly carpooling, riding bikes, looking seriously at buying hybrids and changing our daily behaviors in many other ways. Food costs were skyrocketing. Necessary staples like gallons of Milk and bread were at all time highs. Anything with corn as an essential ingredient was involved in the ethanol conversation and resource scarcity issues.

Reflect again. Now, a year later, we're in totally different place. Obama is our President. Global warming legislation passed in the House a few weeks ago and now moves to the Senate. Stimulus funding is making its way to States and local municipalities. (Who would have known a year ago any of this would be happening?) It's surreal. One thing which has changed though, is our collective sense of urgency has diminished. Gas prices at the pump have returned to pre-summer '08 costs. We're driving more, car pooling less. Prices in the supermarkets have lowered substantially. Houses are starting to sell again, albeit slowly. However, many of us are unemployed or underemployed. It's excruciating how much the economic meltdown has effected us all. Many of us are barely making ends meet. So many of the things we took for granted even last summer have all come into question. It's going to take a long while to dig out from this downturn and return back to some kind of normalcy. We are in a depression or at best an extremely deep recession.

I know it's not fun to reflect back to another time around 9/11 but remember the few days after the attack when the skies were quiet from commercial air traffic. It's was so quiet it was un-nerving. This not to subtle change in the sky signified a generational loss of innocence but I also feel that time of quiet serves clearly as a metaphor for me for how last year has been. So...

Reflect on your feelings from last summer. I bet you were behaving differently. Try to channel your memories from that time into sustained, substantive and positive action today. The time for change is as urgent as it ever was and the opportunity for change is the best it's been in a generation.

If you haven't done so already weatherize your home, your church, your business, your school. Until you weatherize your building, upgrade your insulation, service your heating and cooling systems stay away from sexy improvements such as solar panels or other advanced energy saving equipment. Change your light bulbs to compact fluorescents lighting (CFL's). Call your local congressperson, your mayor or electric utility and find out about weatherization programs, tax incentives, grants you can participate in to lower your energy bills this winter and create greater energy independence for you and your family for seasons to come. Re-examine your commuting habits, your consumption of consumer products and try your best to shift your behaviors on a personal, professional and community level. Take baby steps. Be brave and search for inner discipline to make the hard choices to change your habits. Don't be complacent and don't look back!

If you lost your job find out about green training and workforce training programs in your area. Take your existing skills and see how you can fit into the emerging green collar economy. Whether installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, replacing windows, teaching others new green skills, learning to build green, working to build the smart energy grid and local interfaces at the community level this is a time of unparalleled opportunity. Find manufacturers participating in the renewable energy economy and work for them. It is in all of our interests to do these things. Much of this will help power our new smarter more sustainable economy. For those of you in workplaces where change is needed, ask around, see if there is a sustainability or corporate responsibility committee taking every day necessary actions to make your business or organizations better stewards of the environment while also helping your bottom line.

You can't afford not to act. We must step up for the sake of the next generation to follow us and those after them.

Bill Strickland Jr., Manchester Bidwell Corporation and WMCAT

A few weeks ago I met Bill Strickland Jr. at NEOCON, World's Trade Fair in Chicago June 15-17th. It was at Steelcase's Green Giant's Monday Night Reception where he spoke about his inspirational work building Manchester Bidwell Craftsman's Guild and Corporation in Pittsburg over the last generation. He told the story of how he followed his passion in making pottery into an organic improv journey of creation of alternative educational programs in the inner city neighborhood of Manchester. He turned the impossible into the possible so to speak and lit up the minds and hearts of underprivileged young people and adult learners along the way. As years went by he built momentum and enthusiasm for his work by galvanizing the local private sector when public funding and support waned. He turned this into a powerful process of continual reinvention with his team of talented educators where they reached out to industry and provided needed various kinds of workforce training to fill demand in local corporations in exchange for program and operational support.

He won a Macarthur Genius grant, started the grammy award winning MCG Jazz Record label and created nurturing student centered learning environments and facilities. He also wrote a book which I recently read on my vacation to Michigan titled "Make the Impossible Possible" which is found on his non-profit website.

His message where we all have something really valuable to offer our world and to follow our dreams and our passions. By building bridges and seeking sincere relationships with others of shared viewpoints inspired me to visit a program in Grand Rapids modeled on the MBC and Bill's visionary work, the Western Michigan Center for Arts and Technology. It opened in 2005 and in 2007, I believe received it's USGBC Leed for Commercial Interiors Silver Certification signifying a strong committment to providing a quality, healthy learning environment for area high school age arts students and adult learners gaining skills in medical technologies.

I didn't have too much time for my visit but I took a look around the front lobby / reception area and ducked into various learning spaces as well as enjoyed the central commons area where there was a cafe like setting. The central downtown location was literally across the street from the City Library, other businesses, a YWCA and other services. There was a children's museum across the street. Visiting WMCAT really reinforced Bill's message of the importance of creating world class environments for learning. As I couldn't visit Pittsburg this was the second best I could do to experience the MBC philosophy in action, adapted to Grand Rapids. WMCAT is really important because it shows the adaptability of the MBC model here and for other areas of the country.

Harvard Business School has been Studying the work of MBC over the last 10 years or so updating and refining a series of case studies first examining the initial programs and ideas but now looking at the replication of the model to other communities around the country. I can think of the MBC model being useful for those in my community in Vermont as we ponder the future of education and workforce training of our children and adult learners some who are seeking alternative careers due to job cuts and other drastic effects of our economy. I bet the Green Workforce training initiatives being discussed in Washington and State Capitals around the country could learn from the public private cooperative initiatives MBC has championed over the years and create good well paying sustainable, useful jobs for the next generation. (Photo of Bill Strickland courtesy of Bill-Strickland.org, Building Photos by S. Frey)

Green Collar Job Creation_Solar Industry Training Event in Vermont

It's reassuring when the day after I post on Green Collar thinking and say things are happening here in Vermont but then open my local paper, The Burlington Free Press, page 10 in the Calendar in the Business Monday circular and see evidence supporting my assertions. This Wednesday evening on the UVM Campus, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300 is holding a Solar Industry Night from 6-8pm. It's purpose is to educate small business owners and union members and other interested parties in renewable energy training for electricians. At the event, attendees will learn about the training programs and facilities offered by the union to assist in providing additional trained professionals to assist in growing solar industry installations around the state and region. This reinforces what I had learned at a recent Renewable energy conference over a month ago.

I met Matt Lash, the union representative helping to set up this Open House Event at the 2008 Renewable Energy Vermont Conference held October 14-15th in Burlington at the Sheraton Inn and Conference Center. He explained a little about the program and how his local group was committed to furthering job creation in this industry. They had obtained funding to construct training facility at their offices in South Burlington from Vermont Department of Labor Workforce Education and Training grant and Entergy Nuclear-Vermont Yankee. Interesting combination of supporters. There must be a lot of electricians working at our local VT Nuclear plant. It will be interesting to see the impact of programs such as this over the next couple of years as these electricians with new skills seek and hopefully find jobs. Jobs in some cases which don't yet exist.