How Green Are We?

By: SARAH JANE ROTHENFLUCH | Friday: February 20th 2009

Green and sustainable are two terms we hear bandied about a lot these days. President Obama has made green energy a big part of the $787 billion stimulus package. Governor Kulongoski says Oregon has a "green advantage." He's created a special advisory group — called the Oregon Way — to advise state agencies trying to get some of that federal money for projects that "promote sustainability, renewable energy, carbon reduction, energy efficiency and green development."

Am I the only one who is still wondering exactly what this future is going to look like? We did a show recently on greenwashing that attempted to define the two big buzz words of the day (again, those are green and sustainable). I think we got somewhere, but in the course of finding answers, we also found many more questions. Namely, what exactly is Oregon's green future going to look like? Are we really more sustainable than other places in the US? Is going green really the key to our future economic success? Or, as Desolation wrote on our blog,

"Green is NOT new, but the marketing is.  I question the productivity and certainly the honesty and integrity of it."

Since there are so many questions, and so many story ideas, out there, we are going to begin a series called Sustainable Oregon. And this is where I'm looking for your input. Right now we're considering some of the following very broad topic areas:

  • Green Jobs
  • Renewable Energy
  • Environmentally-friendly Transportation
  • Sustainable Land Use and Community Planning
  • Green Lifestyles (from eating locally to green funerals)

What would you like to hear? Are you interested in an hour-long discussion on wave and tidal power? Would you like to participate in a show on sustainable farming or tourism or event-management? Do you believe that the future is green?

 

 

 

I am starting a training company that is a direct result of the stimulus funds investment and connected with the first big wave of green jobs; energy efficiency in homes. Energy conservation is the most cost effective source of energy available to us. We need to curb our energy use while simultaneously building a renewable energy infrastructure. Oregon is ready to launch the biggest weatherization effort in our state’s history. Our legislature is finding bipartisan unity in support of a low interest long term loan program that would allow utility customers to borrow money for weatherization and renewable energy systems and pay back the loans through their utility bills. Combined with federal and state stimulus money, tax credits, and increased utility backed incentives we are on the verge of a paradigm shift. Let’s talk about green collar jobs and how people without advanced degrees will fit into the picture. Kind regards, -Jeff

jeffcatlin@msn.com —

I'm with jeffcatlin. I don't want to talk about green jobs without determining where people without advanced degrees will fit in long term. Right now there is a rush to build wind farms. After they're built - pick an arbitrary percentage of 80% of the workers - will be laid off long term. Building wind farms appears to be a short-lived occupation for the majority of its workers. What will those unemployed employees do next?

I know there is lots of green work to do and I hope thought is given to the progression of workers through the life cycle of the green paradigm. Woah, I'm talking doublespeak, sorry. What I'm saying is that after green workers build wind farms they will hopefully be put to work revamping the nation's energy grid. After that they should be available to help home owners revamp their homes. Or all of this could happen simultaneously.

Conservation should be the first bullet point of our green discussion. Don't use a resource in the first place. I still see a lot of lit billboards which should go away.

Good luck getting people to take out loans to make their homes more energy efficient in this economic climate. People need stable incomes which will allow them to pay for energy efficiency improvements. Most of us can only afford conservation at this time.

trurl9 —

Comments are now closed.



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