Source #30

Summary: A study in California proves green policy creates more jobs.

Topic:  Green Job Development 

Category: Mainstream Journalistic 

What is it? An article retrieved online from the printed version of The New York Times. 

Title: Green Policies in California Generated Jobs, Study Finds 

Publication Information: The New York Times, October 20, 2008 

Author: Felicity Barringer 

Location: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/business/20green.html?scp=6&sq=green%20jobs&st=cse

Accessed: January 30, 2009

Support:
* David Roland-Host, economist at the Center for Energy, Resources, and Economic Sustainability at the University of California at Berkeley

Source Analysis: The New York Times is well-known for its liberal association. It is also the largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, claiming 1,000,665 daily readers and boasting 98 Pulitzer Prizes. The paper is so popular it has acquired the nickname “Gray Lady.” Established in 1851, it has won more awards than any other paper in America. The New York Times operates on the motto “All the News that’s Fit to Print.” The Sulzberger family has controlled the paper since 1896. The paper’s website is one of the most popular news sources, with over 14 million unique visits in August 2008 alone. (Wikipedia.Org).

Usefulness: I was excited to find this article because it contains evidence to support my argument on the benefits on implementing a strong green job work force in America. It contains helpful economic analysis that explains why and how green jobs are great for the economy, especially in areas of high poverty. The green policy in California may be proof that not only do green policies create and maintain more jobs, but they also save money by diverting resources to other areas of demand. 

Works Cited: 
* Roland-Host, David. [Unpublished] study on California’s green policies.  

Source #31

Summary: This article argues that it is crucial for the growing green jobs sector to target youth and college graduates for recruitment. It also speculates about the possible number of jobs the green area could create by 2020 if the right resources are developed. 

Topic: Green Job Development

Category: Alternative Journalistic 

What is it? This is an online magazine that targets consumers with an interest in sustainable living and harvesting the earth’s natural resources. 
Title: Welcome to Green-Collar America: Does the Future of the American Middle Class Lie in Sustainable Business?

Publication Information: emagazine.com, 2004

Author: Brita Belli 

Location: http://www.emagazine.com/view/?3943&src=

Accessed: January 30, 2009 

Support:
* Apollo Alliance, green advocacy organization 
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights 
* United States Congress 
* Hilda Solis, former democratic senator from California
* John Tierney, former democratic senator from Massachusetts 
* George W. Bush, former Unites States president 
* Bernie Sanders, former democratic senator from Vermont 
* Hilary Clinton, former democratic senator from New York 
* Van Jones, president of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights 
* Green Jobs Corps, Oakland, CA 
* Kevin Doyle, president of green consulting and training company Green Economy 
* Rona Fried, finder and president of SustainableBusiness.com
* Dan Esty, director of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale University 
* Greenpeace 
* Coca-Cola 
* Chiquita 
* Rainforest Alliance 
* McDonald’s 
* Environmental Defense
* American Hazard Control Group
* Kate Gordon, program director for the Apollo Alliance 
* Ted Ning, conference director of Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS)
* Wal*Mart 
* Starbucks 
* Trader Joe’s
 
Source Analysis: E-The Environmental Magazine is published bimonthly. Its audience is consumers who are concerned with the environment and what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. The magazine has been published for 19 years. E Magazine has a small staff (nine employees), and has won an Independent Press Award 13 times. It is published by the non-profit Earth Action Network Inc. (Emagazine.com). 

Usefulness: This article was extremely helpful, and I am glad I stumbled upon it. It lists the opinions of the author’s of books about green job development. I may have to check out these books to get more information on my social issue. It also lists helpful websites devoted to sharing more information on green jobs and energy efficiency. The article also stresses the importance of recruiting young people and those in the lower income bracket into the green job sector. 

Works Cited: 
* Energy Savings Act 2007 
* Environmental Law and Policy Center 
* Esty, Dan. “Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value and Build Competitive Advantage,” Yale University Press, 2006  
 * LOHAS Journal 
* Piasecki, Bruce. “World Inc.: When it Comes to Solutions-Both Local and Global- Businesses are Now More Powerful than Government,” Sourcebooks, Inc. 2007
* Univeristy of California at Berkeley 2004-2006 study: “Putting Renewables to Work: How Many Jobs Can the Clean Energy Industry Generate?”    

Source #32

Summary: This article is about the establishment of green construction and home supply companies in the Philadelphia area. The companies were implemented to meet the growing demands for green household products and energy-efficient buildings. The article is about how it really is not difficult to make the transition to a greener lifestyle. It argues it is also very cost-effective.
 
Topic: Green businesses in the Philadelphia area

Category: Alternative Journalistic

What is it? An archived online version of the article printed in the Philadelphia weekly in Sept. 2007

Title: Bring it on Home: New Philly Companies Help Locals Build Green 

Publication Information: Philadelphia Weekly, Sept. 26, 2007 

Author: Cassidy Hartman 

Location: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/articles/15528

Accessed: January 30, 2009 

Support: 
* Home Depot 
* Angelo Anastio, CEO of Greenable Design & Supply Company 
* Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) 
* GreenDepot
* MarJam, construction supply company
* Mark Buller, creator of ECO
* U.S. Green Building Council
* Jennifer Frantino, manager of GreenDepot’s Philadelphia store
* Environmental Home Store (EHS)  

Source Analysis: The Philadelphia Weekly was established in 1971. Although it may not be the most widely-read newspaper in the Pennsylvania area, it is one of the most widely circulated. The weekly is published on Wednesdays and claims about 2,000 readers. The paper advertises local businesses and informs its readers about current events throughout the Pennsylvania area. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Weeklies (A.A.N.) (Philadelphiaweekly.com)

Usefulness: This article was valuable because it named green businesses I could research more thoroughly. I was impressed that the managers of these green businesses in the Philadelphia area openly admitted to competing with home construction and supply giants such as Wal*Mart and Home Depot. I was also happy with the fact that the supporters emphasized that it really is not that difficult to go green, and that potential consumers would save money by converting to an energy-efficient lifestyle. 

Source #33

Summary: There is a vacant 20-acre lot in downtown Los Angeles that the city is considering as a potential site for establishing a cluster of green businesses. Previously, the lot was going to be used as a bus manufacturing plant and a garbage incinerator. It has also been used as a site for industrial waste, which required intensive cleanup. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency are proponents of building a “CleanTech Manufacturing Center” on this site in an effort to implement and expand green jobs. 

Topic: The potential establishment of a cluster of environmentally sustainable businesses in downtown Los Angeles, CA.

Category: Mainstream Journalistic 

What is it? The online version of an article from the business section of the Los Angeles Times 

Title: ‘Green’ Industrial Plot Planned for Lot; L.A. Officials Hope to Create Jobs with a Downtown Cluster of Environmentally Sustainable Companies 

Publication Information: Los Angeles Times, Sept. 24, 2008, Home Edition 

Author: Marla Dickerson

Location: http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/24/business/fi-greentech24

Accessed: January 29, 2009 

Support:
* CleanTech Manufacturing Center 
* Los Angeles City officials 
* Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles, CA. 
* CleanTech Corridor 
* Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles 
* Cecilia Estolano, chief executive of Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles 
* Tom Soto, managing partner of Craton Equity Partners  

Source Analysis: The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, CA. and distributed throughout the entire area of the western USA. It is the fourth largest newspaper in the country, boasting 773,884 daily readers. The paper was first published in December 1881. It is owned by the Tribune Company. In 1910, the paper survived the bombing of its headquarters as a result of rising tensions with local unions. 21 people were killed. After this tragedy, the paper relocated to the Los Angeles Time’s Building, a landmark in that area (Wikipedia.Org). 

Usefulness: I was pleased to find that a heavily populated city such as Los Angeles is considering developing more green businesses, but I did not find this article as helpful as I hoped. The main reason for my slight dissatisfaction is because I did not feel there were many relevant details listed in the text. Some of the questions I had after reading this article were: are there currently any interested green job business investors? How many new jobs is the city hoping to create with the establishment of this sustainable business cluster? Are there specific groups the city hopes to recruit for these new green collar jobs, such as the low-income, youth, or minorities? To be fair, though, I understand that it is possible this information may not be available since this is a brand new business idea.

Source #34

Summary: There seems to be a heavy focus on green job development in state and federal agendas. This article is about the many initiatives the states and the federal government are taking to propel the expansion of green jobs. Included in the article are multiple organizations such as Richmond Building in Richmond, CA., Greencorps Chicago in Chicago, IL., and JFYNetworks of Lynn, LA., that are concentrating on recruiting potential employees into the “green collar workforce.” 

Topic: Green Job Expansion

Category: Mainstream Journalistic

What is it? An article from the online version of the Boston Globe

Title: Donning a Green Collar Program Readies Workers for Environmental Jobs 

Publication Information: The Boston Globe, July 4 2008, Third Edition
 
Author: Vanessa E. Jones, Globe Staff
 
Location: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/07/04/donning_a_green_collar/

Accessed: January 29, 2009

Support:
* Henry Alvarez, former emergency medical technician 
* JFYNetworks, workforce development organization
* Gary Kaplan, executive director of JFYNetworks  
* Lisa Clauson, director of Community Labor United
* Richmond Build, construction training program
* Greencorps Chicago, job development organization
* Morisset Saint-Preux, assistant dean of continued education at Roxbury Community College
* Penn Loh, executive director at Roxbury’s Alternatives for Community and Environment
* City of Boston
* Massachusetts Green Job Coalition (MaGJC)
* Salvatore F. DiMasi, House Speaker & proponent of Clean Energy Bill
* Ben Downing, Democratic Senator, Massachusetts
* Laurie Leyshon, co-founder of MaGJC
* Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technology
* Scotland Willis, co-chair the Urban Massachusetts Green Alliance
* Denise Simmons, Mayor of Cambridge, MA
* Chuck Turner, Boston City Councilor  
* Green Jobs Act, Congress 2007
* Van Jones, creator of Green for All in Oakland, CA
* Massachusetts Democratic Convention, Lowell, MA
* Kalia Lydgate, co-founder of MaGJC 

Source Analysis: The Boston Globe is the most widely-circulated daily newspaper in the Boston, MA. area and Maine. The newspaper is owned by The New York Times Company . The paper claims to have 350,605 daily readers. It was founded in 1872 and was purchased by The New York Times Company in 1993. Boston Globe reporters are credited for their coverage in 2001-2003 of the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandals especially in light of reports of abuse in Massachusetts. The paper received the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for its investigative journalism during that time. The Boston Globe also maintains 28 online blogs (Wikipedia.Org). 

 

Usefulness: Since I know almost nothing about green job development in America, I found this article extremely helpful. I was impressed with the number of sources and people cited in the text. The article also listed many state organizations that have been implemented to expand the green collar work force. In addition to listing state initiatives, the article briefly mentioned a $25 million Green Job Act passed by Congress in 2007. Prior to reading this piece, I had no idea there was even an existing federal effort to push for green job development. With numerous sources and over a dozen organizations listed by name, this article alone is a great head start for gathering additional information on my social issue. 

Inauguration Speech 2009: Energy a Top Priority on Obama’s Agenda

I have chosen energy as my social issue for the rest of the year. I was absolutely pleased that President Obama mentioned the urgency of transforming the energy habits of the USA not only once or twice during his inauguration speech, but at least three times. I reviewed a transcript of Obama’s 2009 Inauguration Speech online and posted the relevant quotes below:

“…Each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.” 

“We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.” 

“.. We can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.” 

I am so excited to be working on this topic, but even more excited to see what the next steps of our new President are.

Social Issue & Project for Winter & Spring Term, 2009

Our assignment today is of vital importance:

We had to visit the official Obama-Biden Website and pick one of the social issues the new White House team will be focusing on during the term. The topic we pick will be our baby for the rest of the school year. We will be doing strenuous research on it, which will include an oral presentation and the mandatory referencing of 100 to 150 sources. Tonight, we are supposed to post our social issue in a “should” format onto our blog. My issue of choice is:

“Should the United States Federal Government focus on green job development?”

Of course, our question will probably be refined to be more specific as the weeks past, but this is a great starting point. I do not know almost anything on the subject, so I am excited to find out more as the year progresses.

Right Wing Media Perspective on Inauguration 2009

This morning in class we were divided into groups. Each group was assigned a different type of media to evaluate regarding Barack Obama’s 2009 Inauguration. Our group was “fortunately” assigned right wing or conservative media. The right wing site I visited was Newsbusters.Org, which proudly touts the tagline “Exposing Liberal Media Bias.”

Sadly, I was expecting much more educated and profound analyses of Inauguration 2009 from such a bold, conservative site (See the offical Newsbusters Site for more.) Instead, what I found as breaking news on the site’s front page were poorly written articles that attempted and failed at being neither ironically funny nor interesting.

For example, an article by Brent Baker (ABC: ‘National Pride’ Made Cold Feel Warmer as Seagulls ‘Awed’), is about how it was frigidly cold in DC during Inauguration time, yet the “pride” of the crowd of two million was enough to keep observers warm.

A second article on the Newsbusters site by Kerry Picket (Unofficial Inaugural Parties Struggle Tonight, Will Nets Report?,) somehow managed to be even more irrelevent and I’m-still-bitter-about-McCain’s-losing-ish than the first. Picket wrote about how there are supposedly numerous scheduled Inaugural parties in the Washington D.C. area tonight, yet attendance is so low that many of them have been cancelled. After reading this piece, my first thought was, “Who cares?”

After spending more than an hour in class researching the Inauguration 2009 media coverage from a right wing perspective, I was neither impressed nor enlightened. I did not find a single article worth reading (most of the writers were pouting about how Obama fumbled during the oath, which, by the way, was not his fault.)

In conclusion, I was surprised that Newsbusters prides itself for being the beacon that exposes “liberal media bias.” I felt as though nothing on the site was proof of this claim.

Hawaiian Poke

     Our assignment for Tuesday is to pick one of our favorite food or beverage items and do a one-minute presentation on that item for our class.  

     Poke (pronounced poe-kay), is a raw seafood salad served in Hawaiian cuisine. It is one of my most favorite dishes from my childhood in Hawaii. Although I love living on the Pacific Northwest of the mainland, Poke is one of the food items I dearly miss. You can get poke at one of the Hawaiian restaurants in downtown Eugene, but I do not think it is as fresh or flavorful as the Poke at home on Oahu’s North Shore. 

Here are the three [required] sources I used to gather information about Poke for my presentation: 

1. Contents of Poke salad
2. History of Poke Salad 
3. Cultural Significance of Poke Salad

I will update this post to include more information later after my presentation in tomorrow’s class–I don’t want to give away too much info before then

A New Cigarette Hazard: “Third-Hand Smoke”

My first assignment for the experimental Gateway Course at U of O is the read & post a link to this article on my blog:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/health/research/03smoke.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=third%20hand%20smoke&st=cse