MNN - Mother Nature Network

Before you head off into the weekend, take a few minutes to catch up on the latest in green jobs news from around the world.

 

The push for energy efficiency retrofits in Ireland is not as strong as it is here in the United States and this is affecting the green jobs market. According to an article on the Irish Times website, if more residents focused on energy efficient upgrades up to 25,000 clean energy jobs could be created over the next decade.

 

The Veterans Green Jobs Academy is designed to train military veterans for a green job. This not only allows them to enter today’s job marketplace with valuable skills but it also prepares the vets for the clean energy economy of the future. The organization’s blog recently featured a post by Sean Spurr, a member of the Virginia National Guard that was a participant in the Virginia Weatherization Training Program.

“Veterans Green Jobs gives one the ability to be confident that you receive good training to help you find some kind of niche in a variety of markets. I know that I will use what I have learned to either start my own business or work my way up the ladder in a corporation that will allow me to reach the goal that I have set for myself.”

Not everyone loves green jobs; in fact there is a whole segment of our population that can be categorized as green jobs naysayers. They look for anything that is wrong with green jobs and share their views with anyone that will listen.

 

This week, a lot of attention has been paid to the closure of the GE incandescent light bulb factory. Although this is definitely a sign that things are changing in the energy efficient lighting arena, green jobs naysayers point to the closure as just another example of jobs outsourcing.