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Online Version of this Issue Green Career Tips Archive
Gas prices are, without a doubt, the top stories in the news these days. Read this week's tip to find out what gas prices are doing to your green career!
The Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008 is legislation so important to the success of the green economy and our future, I wanted to give you a little background on this Act. Learn more...
We heard you want more Green job listings so we've added three new listings this week. Take a look....What's New at Green Career Central.
Did you get a f.r.e.e month on the Green Career Central site this week? Scroll down to see if the beginning of your email is next to the treasure chest. We do this every week!
Tip of the Week: What Are Gas Prices Doing to Your Career?
I know it’s something we’d all rather ignore, but by the looks of things, high gas prices are here to stay.
Unfortunately, if the price increases continue we may look back to July as the good old days!!
Although you may be tempted to put your head in the sand and move forward with a business-as-usual mindset, I encourage you to look at your circumstances to see what options you have.
A Mixed Blessing?
High gas prices are going to have ramifications throughout our lives and our economy.
- Our first action is likely to be inaction. We’ll just dig in our heels and pay what we have to pay to continue living the lifestyle to which we are accustomed.
- Our next move will be to look for cost saving measures and gas saving measures to stretch our budget.
- Then we’ll have to become more proactive, looking for changes we can make that will contribute to lowering our gas bill.
- And finally, we’ll look for opportunities to leverage our position in this new economy.
I encourage you to move beyond the first two behaviors as soon as possible. What changes can you make that move you to a new level?
The Down Side
For most of us change is not easy. We don’t purposefully change our habits…without some extra motivation from our pocketbook. In the case of increased fuel prices, the behaviors we are motivated to change will differ depending on our role.
As an Employee: Obviously getting to work is a much bigger issue than it used to be. Have you figured out how much it costs you to get to work and back? What alternatives do you have to cut these costs?
- Use public transportation or carpool
- Work from home more often
- Change jobs
- Move closer to your job
- Start your own business
- Find a local job and start a part-time business – this is an example of a composite career where you have several income streams coming from different sources
As an Employer: What can you do to help your employees afford to work for you?
- Subsidies for public transportation
- Change work schedules to minimize commutes
- Create local satellite offices
- Rethink business travel
As a Business Owner: Can your customers afford to come to your location? Do they have the disposable income to purchase your goods and services? What can you do to stay on their radar? Do you need to reposition your business and marketing? What changes do you need to make to keep your own costs down so you can keep your prices low?
The Up Side
One obvious up side to the increased gas prices is that people are being motivated to look at ways to cut their use of fuel.
The second, perhaps less obvious, outcome is that new industries are beginning to take form to provide solutions to the current crisis. Although there’s going to be a time lag between now and when these industries are thriving, it’s not too early to begin tracking the movements in these fields.
- Public Transportation – Look beyond city and regional governmental agencies to large companies, such as Yahoo and Google, who hire people to figure out transit options for their employees.
- Auto Makers – Although you are most likely aware of the slow motion actions large auto makers are taking to introduce hybrids and electric vehicles, are you aware of the variety of companies that are making inroads into this market?
- Alternative Vehicles – And, have you seen the less standard vehicles that are out there to help people get from point A to point B?
- Biofuels – Although ethanol’s bubble has burst, are you familiar with the companies that are looking at creating fuel from algae or cooking oil from restaurants? Solazyme and LS9 are examples of biofuel companies. San Francisco’s Grease Recycling is an example of a city organization that’s creating biofuel for its fleet.
Do any of these industries interest you? It’s time to pay attention to developments in your local community, your profession, and these industries. What's happening in your region in these areas? Use your favorite search engine to investigate these fields. Your goal is to be ready to jump when the opportunity presents itself.
This issue is not going to “go away.” We may have a bumpy ride at first, but hopefully the end result is new behaviors and habits that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in a substantial way.
Copyright © 2008 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
Congress Watch: Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008
 A couple of weeks ago I referred to the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008 in a newsletter. Because this legislation is so important to the success of the green economy and our future, I wanted to give you a little background on this Act.
The Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008 amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend certain tax incentives for energy production and conservation. The tax incentives that have been in place have helped the solar and wind industries get traction.
If the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008 doesn’t make it out of committee and doesn’t get passed then certain solar and wind tax credits disappear at the end of 2008. Without these tax credits and rebates, investors, business owners, and home owners won’t have the incentive to invest in going green.
The wind industry has had on again off again investment credits and their expansion over the last decade has been like a wild rollercoaster ride—great investment one year and then next to no investment the next year. It’s hard to entice anyone to participate when they can’t predict or ensure long term staying power.
Although much of this bill is focused on extending tax credits for electricity from renewable sources, residential energy efficient property expenditures, and a number of other related areas through 2009, it’s a bridge we need to see to keep the green economy moving forward.
The other part of this bill extends the energy investment tax credit for solar energy, fuel cell, and microturbine property through 2016.
You may want to read the full summary of what is covered in the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008
Currently this bill has been introduced in both the Senate (S. 2821 by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Ensign (R-NV) and has 44 cosponsors) and the House of Representatives (H.R. 5984 Congressman Roscoe G. Bartlett, joined by 90 House colleagues). Both bills are in committee--one in the Senate Finance Committee and the other in the House Ways and Means Committee.
To take action, check to see if your Congress representatives are on board as cosponsors – in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. If they are, contact them to thank them for supporting this Act. If they aren’t listed as cosponsors, contact them to tell them this issue is critical to combating global warming and stimulating the green economy. Remind them that government must make a long-term commitment to give these innovative industries the support they need to gain traction.
You can find out how to contact your representatives through these websites: http://www.house.gov and http://senate.gov .
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Green Career CentralTM is a membership site for people who want to transform their passion for the environment into a prosperous green career.
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