Clarkson students: where are the green jobs?

POTSDAM — College students across the country have been celebrating Earth Week with a variety of environmental events this week.

A couple of Clarkson University students used the occasion to seek answers to a pressing question: Where are the green jobs?

"As we face global warming or climate change, whatever you want to call it, we also have to face a new economy. Some people say there's no way we can fix both at the same time," said Michael A. Guethle, a freshman environmental engineering major at Clarkson. "Green jobs are about going beyond sustainability."

As many students face the prospect of a much tougher job market upon graduation thanks to the sinking economy, they are looking toward a new energy future as a source for employment.

"It's not a zero sum game. We can get jobs and start working together to rebuild our economy and the environment," said Maximillian C. Edmands, a junior political science and computer science major.

He interns at Izzit Green, an environmentally conscious Internet startup with an office in Potsdam.

Mr. Guethle and Mr. Edmands questioned a panel of experts about the opportunities presented by the energy crisis at a student-organized Focus the Nation town hall event earlier this week.

"What is a green job? That's on everyone's lips and minds as we go around the state," said Greg Hart, regional director of the Workforce Development Institute. "This is the time for a green industrial revolution, because it calls on us to reinvent everything. People who come up with those ideas are going to be the next wave."

The Apollo Alliance, a coalition of labor and environmental groups, sees three industries as having the most potential for creating "green-collar jobs" — energy efficiency, wind power and biofuels.

"The green industry is going to go across the spectrum," said Ann L. Heidenreich, director of educational programs for Community Energy Services. "But one thing people say to me is, 'Name one company that's hiring.' That's the challenge for people looking for green jobs right now — they need to think about creating them."

Michael D. Ryan, a Clarkson alumnus and CEO of North Bay Technology Development, agreed.

"Frankly, we can't create jobs without building a great company. You can't just pour money in economic development; you have to have great ideas and a sound business plan," he said. "I look at the downturn as both a blessing and a curse. We've got this little period of reduction in consumption. This is the time to invest in new technologies."

Focus the Nation, a national teach-in that began last year, hopes to jump start a movement toward clean energy and revitalize the economy by creating green jobs along the way.