Going Gaga for Green Jobs

As part of an environmental group in my hometown of Long Beach, Calif., I've become involved with networking with teachers and student groups to give educational presentations. I tell them "green cars and fuels," and other topics that can be presented by our group leadership. There's some interest on their part, but not really that much. Teachers are way busy with students, especially high school classes studying like mad for the state exams on english and math skills that teachers and students now have to devote nearly all their time to.

I recently got the idea of mentioning green jobs as the topic. I happen to be one of these people -- laid off a job two years ago and then going after green job opportunities, which led to being the editor of ADW Green and driving on the weekends for a green chauffeured transportation company. I will talk about it, and tell kids about the variety of training programs and job fairs available to them now. This can be connected to solar panel installations, recycling and waste management, tree planting and lawn composting, automotive service and maintenance, energy efficiency programs, and a variety of other opportunities.

So I called a principal at one of the local high schools, and mentioned topics we cover. When I said "green jobs," the response was, "When can you get here?" The school wanted me there for three days, and I had to say only two, and limited times on those days. I will be doing more of these presentations and writing a Frequently Asked Questions booklet on it, too. Clearly a hot topic.