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Welcome to the Green Career Tip of the Week
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Online Version of this Issue Green Career Tips Archive
In this week’s Highlighted Event, Carol recaps her experience at the Bioneers Conference, including an exciting collaboration she learned of between Google Earth and the Surui tribe of the Amazon Rainforest.
What to learn how to peruse like a pro? Read over Carol’s shoulder and hear her insight as she scans through a local newspaper for green trends in this week’s tip.
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!
Highlighted Event
I just returned from an inspiring time at the Bioneers Conference. A unique mix of innovative scientists, social activists, indigenous elders, creative artists, and technologists, all gathered to celebrate and explore new ways to bring inclusive collaboration to the problems of global warming and social inequity. I was moved emotionally countless times by the evidence of progress through often simple, elegant solutions.
Success is visible in so many realms. I’ll be writing more about my experience, resources, and success stories over the next couple of weeks.
Today I’d like to introduce you to an unlikely pairing…computer software engineers and an indigenous tribe in the Amazon Rain Forest! How often do you think of those two groups collaborating?!
One of the plenary speakers was Rebecca Klein from Google Earth Outreach specifically. She came up with the idea of teaching non-profits, NGOs (non-governmental groups), and communities to use Google Earth to communicate the projects they are working on. Environmentalists, human rights advocates, and those preserving specific cultures are using Google Earth to provide a visual representation of their topic, complete with fly-over tours, embedded photos and video, and annotated facts.
In addition to sharing several environment conservation projects, Rebecca shared the story of their unlikely connection with the tribe from the Amazon Rain Forest. Here’s the description from the Google Earth Blog from June 2007.
“Recently, several of us on the Google Earth team had the great honor to meet with Chief Almir, leader of the Surui Indian tribe in the Brazilian Amazon. Chief Almir had travelled for many hours and thousands of miles to our Google headquarters in Mountain View, in order to propose an unusual partnership. He had come to ask for our help in protecting the rainforest lands as well as the culture and lives of his people.
During his visit, Chief Almir proposed that, in collaboration with their partner, the Amazon Conservation Team, we work together to annotate Google Earth with informative markers and photographs that show the Surui villages, hunting grounds, sacred sites, and cultural sites as well as areas where they’ve found illegal mining and logging incursions onto their land. By doing so, he hopes to raise global awareness of the Surui people’s struggle to preserve their land and culture, by reaching the more than 200 million Google Earth users around the world.”
It’s an amazingly tragic story as you understand how their culture was nearly decimated by disease after their first contact with outsiders in 1969 and an amazingly inspiring story when you understand how they are reaching into the modern world to preserve their own culture and land. You can read an overview of the Googlers’ trip, or a more detailed description of their trip.
Remember…these people are getting paid to travel to the Amazon to do this training. It’s part of their career at Google Earth Outreach! The possible applications are endless! Read about other Google Earth Outreach case studies.
Are there any non-profits in your area that would benefit from a Google Earth Map? How about volunteering to work with them. You gain the experience for your resume and they get a powerfully persuasive tool for their cause.
Tip of the Week: How to Scan for Green Career Clues in Local Media
While I was staying in San Rafael for Bioneers, I found the regional paper slipped under my door each morning. As I scanned the front page on Saturday my internal “Green Trends” bells went off. I started to read the paper to discover what I could about the region’s green attitudes and economy.
Although this way of reading the paper, a blog, or a website is normal operating procedure for me these days, I realize that you may not be as familiar with this way of gathering information about your target industry/profession, the green economy, and the local green economy.
I thought I’d use this newsletter tip to let you look over my shoulder as I read the Marin Independent Journal. I’ll point out the articles that caught my eye and give you some ideas on how to take the next step.
Top Story – Hamilton Restoration Project. “Bay pit could propel wetlands: Report: Storing pumping sediment could speed up work by 8 years, save $200 million”
First off I learn that there’s a restoration project in progress to reinvigorate the area wetlands. A new report released by the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state Coastal Commission provides information about a way to do this more efficiently and cost effectively. The article goes into detail about the plan, including a timeline of where they are now and what will happen next.
If I wanted to know more, I see where to download the report. I could also visit the websites of the key players mentioned in the article.
Next Front Page Article – “Sewerage agencies answer to EPA orders: Preventative strategy proposed after spills“
Chronic sewer problems with maintenance and spills into the Bay have ramifications for human health and wildlife. The article indicates that the agencies are having to jump through hoops to respond to a series of spills earlier in the year.
A number of agencies are listed in this article. They clearly have many problems that need to be resolved. If you were trying to understand this industry, you could learn a lot about the internal workings of the industry.
Another angle I’d explore if I lived in the area is understanding how the sewage spills impacted the wetlands restoration project from the article above.
The small print on the front page alerts me to the following article inside the paper: State needs new way of thinking about water.
Although it’s not a topic that’s gotten a lot of press yet, water quality and supplies are likely to be huge issues as global warming continues. The Governor’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force has approved a plan to help secure California’s water supply and restore the delta ecosystem. The inset box describes the plan recommendations and the next steps in the process. In the process the article describes the problems with the current water supply and ecosystem.
Again, if you are interested in this topic, the key players give you a clue where to keep looking for more information.
Even if water isn’t exactly your passion, water issues impact everyone – industry, municipalities, and wildlife. Scanning the article for the main points will give you a more well-rounded sense of how water impacts your target interests.
Second Section Front Page – Beluga whale in Alaska declared endangered
This article describes an ongoing investigation into the population numbers for the Beluga whale in Cook’s inlet. In reading the article you’d learn about how this is impacting the Federal governments oil drilling leases and how the Alaskan Governor views the investigation and findings.
Although an article like this doesn’t give you information about green opportunities in your local area, you can learn more about how endangered animal populations are studied and how they impact other projects. And, in this case, because the Alaskan Governor has entered the national political stage, it can give you more understanding of her views.
Editorial Page – SMART Trains
Four letters to the editor comment on a regional transportation measure in the upcoming election. As is usually the case, the letters outline various views on an issue that has clearly polarized the residents of the region.
Scanning the editorial page provides you with a glimpse of how residents are feeling about regional issues and you can read what the editors of the paper are thinking about the same issue. Whether you agree or disagree, it will help you get a deeper sense of what’s happening in your region.
This particular series of letters also points to the importance of understanding the election issues for your local area, your region, your state, and the country. How do they impact your target profession/industry?
What You Can Do
If you want a career in the green economy it is imperative that you understand it! The green economy is evolving constantly. The tax credits that were included in the bailout earlier this month were a win. The financial meltdown will impact the green economy. The only question is in what way?! Will the squeeze on capital keep investment from happening or will the break from the status quo allow for new progress? Will the green economy actually help stimulate the national economy? These are factors that impact the green economy at a macro level.
What’s impacting the green economy in your local area or region? Reading and watching local media sources will tell you. Don’t expect perfect clarity after one day or one week of reading. You need to keep at it to see trends, assess progress, and determine key factors that tell the story.
It doesn’t take long to scan a website or the paper each day. You’ll gain new perspective and perhaps the clue that awakens your passion about something you can do to make a difference in your community.
Copyright © 2008 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
"GCC's process was incredibly helpful in getting me started in a new career direction. The worksheets and brainstorming exercises in the What's Your Green Niche ebook helped me realize I already had the skills to launch a new green career. Today, less that four months later, I have a terrific salary doing business development for energy and environmental projects. Thanks to Green Career Central, my dream of merging my personal conviction with professional life came true."
-- Kelly Fergusson
Menlo Park Councilmember (Mayor, 2007) turned Business Development Manager of Energy & Environmental Solutions
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Are You Searching for Your Green Niche?
You know you want a green career, but do you know what you want to do in the green economy?
The key to discovering your green niche is pinpointing how to leverage your skills, passions, talents and experience to plug into the green economy.
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The What’s Your Green Niche eBook eBook takes you through a step-by-step process to determine your green niche. Here's a list of some of the things you'll gain as you work through this eBook. You'll:
- Create your personal definition of success.
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- Develop a list of your 40 favorite skills and interests with the help of checklists.
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Green Career Central Blog:
Green Career Trends: This week we highlight the wind energy, off coast wind power, and investment capital for green industries..
Read the post and add your comments.
Elephant Texting Rangers...What!?: This headline on another blog really caught my attention! Discover a delightful and effective use for technology in the middle of Africa!
Read the post and add your comments.
Next Stop on our Green Career Central Global Photo Tour: In honor of the texting elephant, we travel to Kenya on the tour this week. Check out the photos and leave a comment about your impressions.
Read the post and add your comments.
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Green Career Central is a membership site with a comprehensive set of easy-to-use programs, resources, and events to help people achieve their green career dreams whether they want to find a green job, start a green business, or get a green education.
  
"Carol, thanks for your first Tip of the Week. Connecting with what I'm drawn to brought tears to my eyes and made me feel happy and excited. I now know what I'm looking for in my green career. I will continue to look to you and yours for support as I make my way forward. Thank you." -- Cheryl, Chicago, IL
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This Week's Drawing for a
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What's New at GreenCareerCentral.com
New Job Board Reviews
That texting elephant inspired us to explore job opportunities in the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) industry. Although not all applications for this technology are green, there are more and more green opportunities. We’ve added a review of an international job board (scroll to the bottom of the page for this new review) as well as a US based job board. These two boards add seventy green job opportunities in total.
Green Industry Profiles
Whether you are investigating your green career options or launching your job search, use these resources to strengthen your understanding of the various green industries.
Click here to learn more about the Green Industries.
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The Green Career Central™ Store provides you with ebooks and resources to support you in your quest to make a difference and prosper.
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Did You Know...
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Green Career CentralTM is a virtual career center for motivated professionals who are ready to find a green career that fully expresses their passions, skills, values, and talents.
Carol McClelland, PhD, founder and Executive Director of Green Career Central, has helped thousands of people discover their dream career through her book Your Dream Career For Dummies and her work with individuals, groups, and students. Together with her team of experts, researchers and writers, Carol has pulled together sixteen years of experience into a broad collection of how-to articles, resources, support, and teleclasses to help you find your way to make a difference and prosper.
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