Business Gets Green: February 19th

Business Gets Green is a monthly networking series for green businesses and businesses that want to explore going green. All are welcome and admission is Free. The next session will be held on Thursday, February 19th, from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Buffalo Museum of Science [Map]. Please arrive early. Business Gets Green sessions start promptly at 5:30 and close at 7:30, leaving time for networking.

Agenda:

• 5:30-5:45pm: Senator Antoine Thompson, Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, will discuss environmental initiatives in the NY State legislature. UPDATE: Video of the presentation
  

• 5:45-7:00pm: Suggestions from the floor for legislation in support of greening businesses and improving environmental quality in New York State: 4 minutes each. Please send written copies of your remarks or legislative proposals to Bill Nowak. The entire community - business people, environmentalists, citizens - is invited to participate.
  

• 7:15-7:30pm: Green Businesses that haven't spoken on proposed legislation will introduce themselves - 30 seconds each.

Questions? Please contact Bill Nowak, newly-appointed Director of Policy Research for NYS Sen.Thompson, at wnowak@senate.state.ny.us

Prospectus 2009: Working Toward Green

The Buffalo News Prospectus -- The Year's Business Forecast -- 1/25/2009

Western New York business takes an ENVIRONMENTAL approach

Green Dreams Colliding with Recession Realities
[My note: despite the negative-sounding title, this feature article has some very positive stories about the successful greening of local business.]
Carubba Collision, after hiring a waste solutions advisory firm to oversee its waste stream, launched a program to recycle virtually all of the waste produced by its collision-repair business. Plastic parts, used headlights, steel and aluminum parts and cardboard all are recycled. [click image to enlarge]


Ecology & Environment consulting firm was awarded the highest level of LEED certification for their headquarters building, one of only 10 existing buildings in the country, and the oldest structure in the world, to achieve that status. [click image to enlarge] Full article.

Home Energy -- Audit is first step in energy efficiency
Once an energy audit determines what improvements should be made, there’s a sizable chunk of money available to homeowners willing to make them. National Fuel will give rebates of up to $400 to consumers who install more efficient furnaces, boilers and hot water tanks. NY State offers low-interest loans, cash back on energy improvement expenditures, income-qualified subsidies. Full article.

Jobs -- No shortage of options in search for green jobs
There are plenty of lesser-known, ready-to-go green jobs for a wide variety of workers. “It’s about simplifying the principles so we think about it in our daily lives,” said Aaron Bartley, executive director of the Buffalo chapter of People United for Sustainable Housing. “For us, it is making a home more efficient and sustainable and providing jobs at the same time.” Full article.

Federal Government -- Stimulus plan is sure to boost ‘green-collar’ job creation
Few in official Washington doubt the importance of the “green-collar jobs” that will come as the nation transitions from fossil fuels to new, cleaner forms of energy. Full article.

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise -- Kucharski sees bright spots in economy
Thomas Kucharski, president and chief executive of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, was thrilled to hear Gov. David A. Paterson single out Buffalo’s fast-growing bioscience industry as a bright spot in the economy. He was similarly upbeat with Paterson’s call for an energy plan that would aim for 45 percent of the state’s electricity produced through energy-efficient and renewable-energy measures by 2015. The governor estimated the initiative, which would specifically focus on clean-energy vehicle research, could bring up to 50,000 new jobs to upstate New York. Full article.

Manufacturing -- Saving money by cutting waste
Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to reduce expenses by eliminating waste and limiting energy consumption. As they push to become leaner and more cost-efficient, they are embracing some of the same goals as the environmental movement. Full article.

Restaurants -- Kitchens going green by recycling and staying local
Tina Ames had to swear that she would no longer use Styrofoam, and she had to prove that she recycled paper goods. The proprietor of the Craftsmen Cafe in Clarence installed a rain barrel, put in a larger composter and emphasized her practice of buying food from local suppliers. Full article.

This is a sample of the Prospectus 2009 articles, all of which are at the Buffalo News Website.

Green-Collar Job Training proposed by PPG

The Partnership for the Public Good (PPG) will announce adoption of the 2009 PPG Community Agenda, a policy platform created and adopted by community organizations. A formal presentation will be made to the public in a Press Conference on Friday, February 6 at 10:30AM in the auditorium of the Merriweather Library on Jefferson Ave.

As part of their platform, they recommend that New York State fund a large scale residential retrofit and "Green-Collar" job training program that would provide home energy audits and a range of site appropriate upgrades such as:

• insulating walls
• switching energy-guzzling appliances and light bulbs to Energy Star models
• incorporating green building materials
• installing a live green roof
• looking at alternative power sources where feasible

PPG recommends that these green upgrades be paired with workforce policy to develop job-linked training that creates access to jobs in distressed parts of the state, and establishes career paths with certifications and family-sustaining wage standards.

Other Green Plans in the PPG Platform are for Erie County and the City of Buffalo to hire full-time Sustainability Directors and staff to work with the community to create and implement plans with measurable goals to make our governments and our communities more sustainable, including compliance with the US Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement.

The full PPG Community Agenda is here.
Map to the Merriweather Library is here.

Congressional Testimony on Green Jobs

Van Jones, J.D., and President of Green For All, testified recently about Green Jobs before the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. He spoke about how the twin crises facing our nation, the economic catastrophe and climate change, are linked and could undermine our nation's security. He believes that creating green jobs will rescue the American economy, save energy and money, and help fight poverty and global warming pollution at the same time. A video containing portions of his testimony is here.

In his written testimony, Van Jones referred to the Green Recovery report which showed how $100 billion of smartly invested and leveraged federal dollars can create two million new jobs in the next two years. The report also showed that the same amount of money invested in energy efficiency and renewable energy actually creates FOUR TIMES as many jobs as the same money invested in the oil industry.

His written testimony states, "Furthermore, investments in renewable energy will help create economies of scale, which will drive down the price of these technologies – and they will level the playing field with the subsidized fossil fuel industry. In the long run, smart policy and investment will drive down prices for clean, renewable, homegrown energy sources. But if we cling to the old, carbon-intensive energy technologies, then the price we all pay – in volatile economic costs, in climate disruption and in threats to our national security – will continue to climb. And the poor will be hit – first and worst – by every one of those rising costs. A well thought out shift to a clean energy economy offers more work, more wealth and better health to disadvantaged communities than does any plausible, business-as-usual scenario."

Congress failed to appropriate the funds necessary for the Green Jobs Act of 2007 that would have made money available for green job training across the country. Jones' testimony states, "When it comes to rhetoric about green jobs, we are experiencing a bubble. But when it comes to advancing meaningful, federal legislation for green jobs, we are still in a bowl. As someone who gives a lot of speeches, myself, let me say: messages and inspiration are important. But the American people cannot eat political sound-bites. They cannot take shelter under slogans. People need real job training, real service opportunities and real jobs – right now, desperately. As you consider the upcoming economic recovery package, I urge you and your colleagues to seek full funding – and more – for the Green Jobs Act."

Van Jones also urged Congress to go beyond the Green Jobs Act and create something bolder: a Clean Energy Corps to retrofit millions of buildings, to give community service opportunities, job training and employment to hundreds of thousands of people. His Green For All organization and others are developing a proposal for that initiative which will be submitted for the Congressional committee’s review.

The full written testimony by Van Jones is here, and the Green Recovery report is here.

Green Jobs in Buffalo?

Whether it's to save the planet, or save money, going 'green' is in. Everyone and everything are going green. Certain blue-collar jobs and white-collar jobs are now being repurposed as green-collar jobs, or simply green jobs. Green jobs are becoming the rage across the country, and hopefully these new job opportunities will develop in Buffalo.

What is a green job? Green jobs are well-paid, career-track jobs that contribute directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality. Such jobs are arising because of the need to address global warming pollution caused by burning fossil fuels, and also because of the need to develop sources of clean, renewable energy, like wind, solar and geothermal. Also, investment in energy efficiency can create new jobs, and at the same time help reduce global warming pollution. The table below lists a wide variety of representative jobs that are associated with several different strategies for green economic investment.

[click image to enlarge]

The table is from a report on a green economic recovery program which showed that a $100 billion investment in these areas over two years would result in 2 Million new jobs across the nation. This program would provide a major boost to the construction and manufacturing sectors throughout the U.S, and would have a very significant impact on New York’s labor market. There would be a net increase of 131,991 jobs, reducing New York’s unemployment rate to 3.8% in two years from 5.2% (June 2008). The full report on the impact of this economic recovery program on New York state is here.

Strong opportunities for creating green jobs are anticipated in the near future. President-elect Obama supports making strategic investments to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. He also supports programs, like the Green Jobs Corps (see Web links on the right-side panel), that will provide youth participants with service opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings in their communities, and also with practical skills and experience in important career fields of expected high‐growth employment.

How about opportunities for green jobs and a Green Jobs Corps in Buffalo? Recently, NY State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt held a "Green Jobs Conference" in Buffalo. The text of his opening remarks is here, and the handout distributed at the conference is here. The conference brought together about 175 representatives from government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations to create a clear action plan for long-term success. Participants will continue to meet periodically in smaller groups to further develop job creation proposals and policy suggestions for consideration by state agencies. Hoyt is developing a proposal to create a concurrent green jobs and training corps program that would deconstruct, not demolish, abandoned houses in NY cities and reuse, not landfill, the recovered building materials, replicating Buffalo ReUse’s successful deconstruction model. We very much look forward to future developments on green jobs and training opportunities in Buffalo!

Business Gets Green: December 11th

On Thursday, December 11th, from 5:30 to 7:30pm at the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo's Green Gold Development Corporation will host the 6th monthly session of Business Gets Green, a networking series for green businesses and businesses that want to explore going green. All are welcome and admission is Free. The session will feature presentations by:

• Gary Hydock, GCS Radiant, on radiant floor heating

• David Lanfear, Bale-on-Bale Construction, on building a model green house, featuring superinsulation, solar hot water, photovoltaics, reclaimed materials, and a completely insulated slab with radiant heat. Video presentation.
  

• Brian Reilly, Buffalo Economic Development Commissioner, on the new South Buffalo Greenbelt proposal to redevelop the South Buffalo brownfields as a hot bed for green business
  

• David Hahn Baker, CAO's Environmental Justice Center, will present a proposal to turn one of CAO's buildings into a showcase for green technology. Video presentation.

• David Majewski, Premium Services, will talk briefly about synergies in Low Impact Development (LID) that are continuing to grow as a result of green businesses communicating with each other.

Presentations at this session, like those at earlier Business Gets Green sessions, will be videotaped and shown on LCTV. To see videos of earlier presentations, check out the VideoWebWorks Business Gets Green Group on YouTube.

For more information, e-mail Bill Nowak at bill.nowak2@verizon.net
.

In the NEWS 11/29

West Valley cleanup could take 30 years - 11/27/2008
Phased shutdown is one of four alternatives unveiled in Department of Energy report
WASHINGTON — State and federal agencies are recommending a phased shutdown of the West Valley Nuclear Demonstration Project, a process that will take 30 more years.
Their report leaves many crucial issues unsettled, including which level of government is ultimately responsible for cleaning up the site and where radioactive waste would be shipped.
The full article by Douglas Turner is here.

Insulating your windows - 11/28/2008
Your Utility Bills by James Dulley
The savings from installing insulating shades and/or curtains often provides a much faster payback than expensive replacement windows.
The additional insulating value from indoor window coverings can range from R-1 to R-5, but the insulation is only part of the story. Insulating shades which have the edges trapped in vertical side tracks are most effective. This reduces the room air flow around the shade and across the cold glass. Read more here.

Pedestrians and bicyclists get place in road plans - 11/28/2008
Nondrivers vital to green road mind-set
Bicyclists, walkers and people pushing baby strollers have a right to the road, some green-minded people say, as they urge Erie County and City of Buffalo officials to see streets as paths for people, not just vehicles.
“The whole idea is to make sure that if people are walking and cycling, they are provided with a safe place to do so, and that we think about people before thinking about moving automobiles from Point A to Point B,” said Justin S. Booth, director of Green Options Buffalo.
The full article by Matthew Spina is here.

Everybody's Column - 11/29/2008
Devise a plan to repair tattered infrastructure
"How about a “big idea” plan to bring our electrical grid into the 21st century? And include in the plan the requirement that all materials, parts and machinery be produced in the United States and that one must be a U. S. citizen to be employed by this massive endeavor." The full letter is here.
~Art Borgeson

Timing traffic lights will help fuel efficiency
"It is increasingly frustrating to do everything I can to practice fuel-efficient driving and still have to stop at nearly every single light. It’s time for better design so we can eliminate part of our dependence on oil." The full letter is here.
~Leslie Latham

Business Gets Green V: Videos

The fifth session of Business Gets Green was held on October 16 at the Buffalo Museum of Science. Links to Videos of the presentations are listed below.

Featured Presentations:

• Paul Vargovich, Jr., National Solar Technologies

• Kerri Bentkowski, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper

• Andy McLellan and David Scott, UNYS / Environmental Education Associates, Inc.

Three Presentations are included in one Video below:

• Judy Einach, Exec. Director, NY Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (Part 1 - 0:00-7:40 min.)

• Erwin Rakoczy, Maker of Fine Hard Ciders, Farmers' Market Aficionado (Part 2 - 7:41-13:15 min.)

• Christa Glennie Seychew, Founder of Feed Your Soul (Part 3 - 13:16-26:18 min.)

Videos are courtesy of LCTV and videographer Jon Allen.

For more information on Business Gets Green, e-mail Bill Nowak

Green Jobs Conference

NY State Assemblyman Sam Hoyt

will host a

GREEN JOBS CONFERENCE

• WHEN: Saturday, November 22, 8am to Noon

• WHERE: Erie Community College, 121 Ellicott St, Buffalo
  

• MAP: Click here
  

• RSVP: Click here

The Green Jobs Conference will be an in-depth discussion of how we can overcome existing obstacles, including lack of training and a need to recruit new employers, to create new jobs at all skill and wage levels. Economic growth based on careers for “green” industries has the potential to create both long-term fiscal stability for the region and a healthier, more environmentally-conscious community. Topics will include community revitalization, manufacturing, transportation, energy, creating opportunities and industries, training programs, waste management and recycling, public awareness and education, public health and food. The conference is open to the public.

For more information on how Green Jobs benefit the economy, Click Here.
.