From blue-collar to green: Can we lessen poverty and save the earth?

Can going green end poverty? We certainly know it helps the earth. But in a time when blue-collar jobs are disappearing rapidly, how can we get the underclasses of America to care about saving the planet. They can barely afford food and decent housing; they have to worry about getting caught in the crossfire of gang warfare. So how can a person trapped in poverty with no access to higher education, ascend into the middle class. Our grandparents did it by working in manufacturing. A man could readily support his family on a shop-workers wages. They certainly weren't rich but they knew if they worked hard and were loyal to the company, they would be rewarded. That kind of certainty no longer exists. Manufacturers are far from loyal to their workers, chasing the almighty buck all the way to Brazil.

Well some believe that a push for a green economy would provide a niche for today's would-be laborers. If the government regulated energy usage, people would be forced to change. There would be an awful lot of buildings in need of retro-fitting because it is always cheaper to use less than to generate more energy, especially if that new energy must come from renewable sources. I think the administration has it backwards when they support tax breaks and subsidies for big energy companies. By denying them the ability to get rich off of cheap, but dwindling energy reserves, they are forced to create jobs of the green-collar type. People will simply have to hire someone to do the update their buildings to save on energy costs. It's the only solution that will make financial sense.

There are good many of us who already see the green wave coming. We all need to work together to make sure that everyone gets to ride it up to a better life.

Articles and websites on the green economy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/opinion/17friedman.html?_r=2&ref=opinion&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
http://greenforall.org/
http://urbanhabitat.org/node/528
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/48490/

Hope and Hard Work Trainings

SAVE THE DATE!
HOPE AND HARD WORK TRAININGS
FOR APPALACHIAN WATERSHED WORKERS

Greetings! The Eastern Coal Regional Round Table is seeking determined
citizens' groups or organizations that are concerned with cleaning up
their local watershed, improving their community and learning how to
find the money to make improvement possible. The ECRR is offering the
opportunity to participate in a three-part training program called Hope
and Hard Work.

Spring training sessions will occur during March 26th-28th at Canaan
Valley Resort for Northern Coalfields groups and April 9th-11th at
Breaks Interstate Park for groups from the Southern Coalfields. The
ECRR will cover participants' lodging, food, and registration expenses.

Each attending group representative will participate in one of two
course tracks; water quality monitoring and fiscal sustainability. The
water quality monitoring track will teach groups how to effectively
monitor acid mine drainage (AMD) and wastewater contamination and how to
use this data to obtain funding to implement cleanup projects. The
fiscal sustainability track will focus on obtaining funds to build the
size, effectiveness, and capacity of your group or organization. A
topic based agenda can be found on the next page.

Two representatives from each group must commit to all three sessions -
the spring training, the summer practicum and the fall training.

We hope that you will join us in embarking on this exciting project to
restore Appalachia's watershed communities! If your group is interested
in this opportunity for free training focused specifically on the
coal-impacted counties of Appalachia, please contact us by email info@easterncoal.org or by phone at 304.329.8409. If you know of other groups that may be interested in
participating, feel free to pass along this information!

We look forward to building new partnerships with you that will
strengthen and expand on the good work of groups like yours in Coal
Country.

Sincerely yours,

Sarah Walters

Eastern Coal Regional Roundtable
119 S. Prince Street, Suite 209
Kingwood, WV 26537

Begin the new year with a little public service

The Project on Government Oversight-Exposing Corruption, Exploring Solutions
A big job if ever there was one.
http://www.pogo.org/p/x/internships.html



Resources for the Future-Improves environmental and natural resource policymaking
http://www.rff.org/


US Dept of State -lots of different opportunities
http://careers.state.gov/students/programs.html#SIP

House Environment PROP to Host 2008 National Recycling Conference, Reviews State Conference

The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania announced this week they will be Recycling Organization Host for the 2008 National Recycling Coalition Congress & Expo in Pittsburgh on September 21-24, 2008.

PROP also announced their 18th Annual Conference in Gettysburg from July 30 - August 1, 2008 at the newly completed Wyndham Hotel, Gettysburg.

Plans for coal-fired electric nixed

The new owners of TXU, formerly Luminant, have dropped plans to build 8 of 11 proposed coal-fired power plants. The energy company has been taken private in a $45billion deal.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/2007/10/16/plan-to-build-8-coal-fired-power-plants-dropped/7838/

Upcoming events

October 4, 2007, 7:00 PM: Panel on the Impact of Sprawl on Natural Resources. Brian Hill will serve as one of 4 panelists. Location: Widener Law School in Harrisburg. PEC is co-sponsoring with PCIEP.

October 15, 2007: PEC presenting to Joint Committee on our Climate Change Roadmap: Location: Harrisburg, PA

October 15, 2007, 6:00 PM: Philadelphia Urban Sustainability Forum - Mayoral Debate - Submit your YouTube questions by October 5th. Location: Academy of Natural Sciences. 19th and Ben Franklin Parkway.

October 18, 2007, 6:00PM: PEC NE Dinner. Nancy Cole from the Union of Concerned Scientists is the featured speaker. Location: Woodlands Inn, Wilkes-Barre.

October 19, 2007, 12noon: Environmental Partners Program in Philadelphia. Jointly sponsored by Senator Erickson and Representative Vitali.

October 23, 2007, 9:00AM-4:00PM: COALS Summit in Harrisburg. Location: Pennsylvania State Capitol Building North Office Building, Hearing Room 1, Harrisburg Please.

More info on all these events can be found on http://www.pecpa.org under "news and events."

Internship Opportunities

World Bank Institute

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTHRJOBS/0,,contentMDK:20515785~menuPK:1477648~pagePK:64262408~piPK:64262191~theSitePK:1058433,00.html

The Internship Program is open to students who are nationals of the Bank's member countries and attracts a large number of highly qualified candidates. The goal of this Internship Program is to offer successful candidates an opportunity to improve their skills as well as the experience of working in an international environment. Interns generally find the experience to be rewarding and interesting. Open until October 31. Must be currently enrolled full-time in graduate program.

 

PA House of Representatives

http://www.house.state.pa.us/

They have 2 internships, fellowship, and a scholarship. Details vary but these are paid positions. Good for those interested in policy.

 

Student Conservation Association

http://www.thesca.org/

Conservation internships in all 50 states. Living and travels expenses, education award, housing, training, and more.