Today, we have a guest post from Churchill Franklin, an invaluable member of our team and Board of Directors. Churchill graduated from Middlebury College a in 1971, married his college sweetheart, Janet, and has had three children graduate from Middlebury. As you can see, he’s very devoted to the school and furthering its mission of academic excellence, global responsibility and environmental stewardship.
You all know the song by Crosby, Stills & Nash, “Teach Your Children Well.” My story has a lot to do with listening to my children and learning from them. My daughter, Lindsey, Middlebury College class of ‘07, majored in environmental studies. Her thinking was shaped by Jon Isham and Bill McKibben. As she showed up from successive semesters at Middlebury, she told an increasingly articulate story about the importance of protecting the environment so that her generation will have a planet on which to live.
Having spent the five years at an environmentally-oriented engineering manufacturing company, Thermo Electron, I knew that creativity was important in solving environmental challenges. I had also come to realize that the only way to galvanize the public’s will to reduce the use of fossil fuel was for the price of oil to increase dramatically. Since that has happened, all kinds of neat things are surfacing–even GM is developing (for the second time) an electric car.
So, Lindsey motivated me to stop driving my Chevy Suburban, buy a Toyota Prius and to begin to think creatively about ways to reduce our personal carbon footprint. Through her inspiration, it was very hard to say no to Brighter Planet, this compelling, student-driven, entrepreneurial idea that came out of a Middlebury classroom (and that has now grown to a company present coast-to-coast through its alliances and the magic of the internet). So, now I find myself on the board of this exciting new company and trying to figure out how to get more Brighter Planet credit cards and debit cards into the hands of the global populace.
Something really beautiful is happening tomorrow. Tens of thousands of people are organizing events in all 50 states to tell our leaders that we’re ready to tackle the climate crisis by building a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. “Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy” has been put together by Green for All, 1Sky, the We Campaign, Energy Action Coalition and over 100 other amazing and diverse partners.
If you’re not already involved, please go to www.greenjobsnow.com — find an event, plan your own, sign the petition or help us spread the word.
Across the country, people recognize that the economic, energy and climate crises are connected, and have developed real solutions that I believe represent our best path forward. In New York, where I’m from, the Green Jobs NY campaign is pushing for a program to retrofit a million homes in 5 years - to fight global warming, create quality jobs with pathways out of poverty, and put energy bill savings back in consumers’ pockets. In the Southwest, where I live, the Navajo Green Economy Coalition has partnered with the Navajo Speaker’s Office to propose a Green Economy Fund to finance green job training programs and sustainable economic development initiatives to transition the tribal economy.
Green Jobs Now aims to raise these local efforts up as a model, and to come together to call on our national leaders to bring these solutions to scale. We can put America back to work rebuilding and repowering America with millions of green-collar jobs. Please join us: www.greenjobsnow.com.
All my best,
Billy
Billy Parish is the Co-Founder and Coordinator of the Energy Action Coalition, dedicating his life’s work to strengthening the climate movement. Billy has been instrumental in bringing the “Green Jobs Now!” message to Washington, and we are delighted to have him on our Advisory Board.
Rich Sturim joined Brighter Planet as Rails Developer in September, 2008.
Greetings to all. I’m very pleased to be the newest member of the Brighter Planet team. After living in Seattle for ten years, our family decided it was time to move back East to be closer to friends and relatives. My wife and I are both New England natives and we love being situated in the rural Vermont surroundings.
When the weather cooperates, I enjoy riding my bike to and from work. It’s 25 miles each way, which may seem like a lot, but the scenery and roads more than make up for it — as these roads are some of the best in the Northeast. In addition to cycling, I also enjoy coaching youth lacrosse, football, and basketball. When the snow arrives our family spends most weekends telemark skiing and snowboarding at Sugarbush. When the snow finally melts we’re often found addressing nine demanding hens or coping with an unruly garden.
For over ten years now I’ve been building web sites for a living. Over that period a lot has changed online — but something that has remained constant for me is the sense of satisfaction that comes from building exciting, engaging, and useful sites that serves a real purpose to a real audience. When someone in my profession finds that opportunity it’s pure gold — and arriving at Brighter Planet is a true windfall.
A common last-ditch claim by global warming skeptics (once they’ve conceded that the climate is changing and we’re to blame) is that taking action is simply too expensive. But study after study has found that the costs of inaction are astronomical, whereas investing in solutions today will help, not hurt, the economy. So it’s appropriate that, as Wall Street ends a roller-coaster week, our partner 1Sky is gearing up to release a summary of recent reports on green jobs.
Green jobs are well-paid, career-track jobs that contribute to preserving or enhancing environmental quality. These jobs are automatically created during the transition from an economy based on coal, oil, and other fossil fuels to one based on efficiency and clean renewable energy. Many are impossible to outsource - imagine shipping a building to China to be retrofitted with better insulation and energy-efficient lighting! Green jobs in the manufacturing sector have the potential to revitalize demand for skilled workers in rust-belt towns, while jobs retrofitting buildings or installing and maintaining solar panels could provide pathways out of poverty to millions in cities. Demand for low-carbon fuels and electricity will create jobs in rural areas. College graduates will start and join companies in a growing environmental services industry.
1Sky’s summary isn’t available for download yet, but the kicker should come as no surprise: investing in energy efficiency and clean, renewable technologies is our best bet for forestalling a two-fold climate and economic crisis. It will bring growth, green jobs, economic stability, and, oh yeah, a healthier environment and hospitable climate.
Here’s a preview of what’s inside the forthcoming report:
Paul Volcker, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve under President Reagan, says that unless we curb global warming “the economy will go down the drain in the next thirty years”
Existing building efficiency opportunities could boost energy productivity the equivalent of 64 million barrels of oil per day - almost 150% of current total US energy consumption.
Although transitional assistance will be necessary, there are more than enough green jobs to offset inevitable job losses in energy industries.
Incentives for low-carbon fuels and electricity could create over 5 million new jobs in rural areas by 2030.
Inadequate training and workforce skills is currently one of the primary obstacles to developing renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Areas hardest-hit by recent manufacturing job losses are well-positioned to take advantage of new green jobs producing solar cells, wind turbine blades, and other components that currently need to be imported.
The full report will be available soon from www.1sky.org
Well, we wanted to give you one last reminder on our video contest, Climate Matters. The submission deadline is this Monday, September 22nd. If you have not already, grab a camera and submit a video. If you don’t have a camera join our contest raffle, so you can be ready next time. If nothing else, vote with your views by checking out some of the great submissions that have rolled in over the last few weeks. Here’s a video from our partners at 1Sky, written and conceived by a 10 year old, to offer you a bit of inspiration.
See how easy it can be? A 30 or 60 second video is all we’re looking for. And be sure to vote with your views! The videos with the most views in a day will win. Good luck and have fun!
