Green Jobs, Socially responsible jobs, and Corportate Social Responsibility

Green jobs not so good?

2009-03-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

A study of Spain’s clean energy initiative by an economics professor at Juan Carlos University in Madrid shows that for every green collar job created 2.2 jobs are lost. If the numbers are correct, the Obama administration could lose around 6 million jobs if they continue their plan for green job creation. Spain might be an important case study before the US implements a plan and it shows that even the best plans can fail.

Economist Disagree About Current US Policies

2009-03-16T10:48:00.001-07:00

Cristina Romer announced on “Meet the Press” that “We have put in the biggest, boldest recovery package in history… incredible medicine for (the) economy, and we fully expect it to work”. She continued to state that the underlining economy is in good shape and a recovery is expected with the current stimulus packages.
Romer is one of the economists who believe that increase government spending is the answer to the U.S. Economic crisis however some disagree. Cristina received her PH.D from MIT in 1985 and has been considered one of the top female economists in the world. In 2008 she was vetoed by Drew Faust to become a tenure professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy school of government.
Romers suggestions to the White House which is now policy is being debated by many economists. Paul Krugman of the New York Times believed the stimulus plan is not large enough to turn the economy around.
Romer stated “it is premature to talk about a second stimulus package” without giving the first one a chance to work.
There is no doubt that the heated debate of Romer’s recommendation, if inaccurate, will have serious consequences for the not just the U.S. economy but for World whom has looked for American leadership for economic success.
Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron said it’s a good idea that the Obama administration is focusing on long-term economic goals but the current U.S. budget proposal is “wildly optimistic”
“First, tax increases will probably not produce as much revenue as being forecast, and second, he hasn’t really touched the two really important programs that account for a huge fraction of our future liabilities (social security and Medicare,” said Miron.
Peter Orszag, the director of the Office of Management and Budget disagreed and said there will be substantial cutbacks.
Of course in Academia there will be many debates on what would be the best policy recommendations but the fact that Cristina Romer’s views are highly criticized is not consistent with the Obama’s statements that he has looked for a consensus of policy recommendations. Basically, no economist knows if current U.S. economic policies will be successful.
Sponsored by Solpowerjobs.com

Job Seekers Tips for a Bad Economy

2009-03-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

The February job losses in the United States totaled 651,000 and raised the employment rate to 8.1%. But most job seekers don’t give up and neither should you. There are many methods to get an employer’s attention and increase your chances of landing that job but be prepared to be competitive.
Scenario: You send your resume out and get no response
Answer: Send a follow up letter or email reminding the employer you are still interested. This is extremely effective if you have a direct address to the HR department or the hiring manager. Not only does a follow up show your enthusiasm it most likely gets your resume a second look. The employer may not be aggressively searching for applicants and if so the follow up email is essential. Make sure you included how you submitted your resume and when. Timing is important so it’s recommended that you wait a week. Remind them about your enthusiasm and repeat your skills that are good for the job.
Scenario: You’re stuck in one location
Answer: Part of being prepared and competitive is willing to make those sacrifices not necessarily once but on a day to day basis. If you’re willing to travel farther or even move, your chance of finding a job increases because you opened up your reach.
Scenario: Not one job you come across is worth your time
Answer: Freelance!! If you have hard skills then market yourself online. Use websites like ODesk.com where you can find recent job posts and bid on them. You can also take tests to show an employer that you have the skills they need. If you don’t want to freelance then maybe you can start that company you always wanted to do or go back to school. The point is to keep going and find a new start.
More and more recruiters are using online advertisements so make sure if you look in different places and branch out. Don’t stick to just one employment website or recruiter; that job maybe right under your noise you just have to look in the right places. Try not to be nervous in your interview and always have a backup plan in case you don’t land that job. If you write out what you are going to do if you cannot find that job you will be less nervous and a feel better in an interview. Good luck!
Author: Peter Klausz New York, NY

Killer Asteroid Comes Closer to Earth than the Moon

2009-03-03T16:26:00.000-08:00

Rob Mcnaught, of the Australian National University identified an asteroid that whizzed by Planet Earth at 12:40 AM yesterday and was closer to Earth than the moon. Needless to say it was not mentioned to the public until after it passed safely. The destruction of this asteroid would have caused equal damage as 1000 Hiroshima (MSNBC) bombs if it hit land and certainly a tsunami if it landed in the ocean
As reported by Brian Williams the asteroid was about the size of a 10 story building and came within 4500 miles of earth. The public was not warned of this possible danger which begs the question did out government know about the event and how long did they know? Either way it was most likely the best idea to not cause panic.
“If discovered in advance and with enough lead time, there is the possibility of pushing it off course, if you have decades of advance warning," McNaught said. "If you have only a few days, you can evacuate the area of impact, but there's not a great deal you can do"
Reports on the asteroids size does vary. Name of asteroid DD45

Green Politics is not the Green party

2009-03-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

“The Green Movement” deals with environmental issues but does not mean it comes from Ralf Nader’s “deep democracy.” The green movement has changed its meaning since the days Ralf Nader repeatedly started running for President of the United Starts. Nader Believes in a deep seeded democracy but the new concept of the “green movement” has nothing to do with democracy and everything to do with Social responsibility.
As written on Wikipedia, “Supporters of Green politics, called Greens, share many ideas with the ecology, conservation, environmental, feminist, and peace movements.” Green Politics can be seen in the current Obama administration not through these ideas but through their investment in renewable energy ($19 billion allocated from the American recovery and reinvestment act). Also check out Green politics on blogger

Define Green Jobs

2009-03-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

There is no one understanding when it comes to green jobs but as defined by Wikipedia, “A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in the environmental sectors of the economy, or in the agricultural sector.” Also, Americans tend to think of green jobs as renewable energy jobs (which are really in the energy sectors).
It does not seem to be an important issue to define “green jobs” as long as its users notice the social responsibility roots of the terms. Within every understanding of what a green job is, It has implications of being a proactive, socially beneficial job.

Why Socially responsible jobs?

2009-02-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

Renewable energy jobs, Environmental jobs, Heath care jobs, and educational jobs are important to fill the social responsibilities of a nation. They have considerable positive impacts to society that cannot always be measured by statistics.
Renewable energy is a young industry that is going to help countries establish energy independence, one way to achieve this independence is through solar energy. Solar energy is very promising and if we can produce enough solar electricity, and further the right technology, we can run an economy on it. Common benefits as regard to Renewable energy include environmental benefits, air pollution reduction, reduced carbon dioxide levels, and reduced water and land pollution.
Health care is an important back bone for a country. Being healthy is considered our natural state of being and if we ask why we should be healthy we should consider the alternatives. It is in society’s best interest to be healthy because it avoids many problematic situations. If we are unhealthy it makes achieving our goals more difficult. Suppose a nation’s goal is to become the most educated nation in the world, if that nation’s population is ridden with disease, education is going to be second to survivability, thus the unhealthy state of the nation is an obstacle to achieve its goal.
An educated nation will have a greater chance of advancing their national interests as compared to the exact same nation with an uneducated population. For example could we even image the United States of America as it is today without the educated individuals such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin. Each played an important role in the development of the United States and each are what they are largely due to their education. Benefits of individual’s with better education typically attain better jobs and make better life decisions.
Non profits fill a void in our nations by helping our society in many different ways. Charitable organizations have goals with merit. Many help fight illiteracy, poverty, hunger, and disease. The Red Cross has help hundreds of thousands of people receives disaster relief. The Disaster relief fund helps provide food, shelter, and various other assistance to victims. The impact on individual life of this effort is immeasurable.

Recession Proof Jobs

2009-02-26T23:27:00.000-08:00

Even in today’s economy there are some positions that are vital to our society and are not affected by a depression. Health care is as important today as it was yesterday and Americans are demanding more. In an economic news release from the Bureau of Labor statistics (January 2009) “employment declined in nearly all major industries, while health care and private education added jobs.”
Many American are considering career changes and it is clear that health care and private education are safe places to pursue. “Health care employment continued to trend up in January with a gain of 19,000. Employment gains in the industry averaged 30,000 a month in 2008. Employment in private education rose by 33,000 over the month.”

Obama's Address to Congress

2009-02-24T23:59:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday February 24, 2009 President Barack Obama made his first address to Congress. The presence of the office has never been as strong as Obama spoke profoundly about the current crisis. Obama pledged the end of inefficient government spending, and increased accountability to the American people. He stated that his administration found 2 trillion in possible government spending cuts over a decade and that there was more to follow.
“While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this,” President Obama declared. “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.”
The Speech was dominated by a few key issues; Health care, Education, Renewable energy, and the American crises. Obama was greeted with applause on his statement of spending $15 billion a year to develop green industry and to cut the use oil, a critical factor to US security. Obama stated he would remove educational programs that did not work and that “health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year”
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Social Responsibility vs Social Freedom

2009-02-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

It has often been debated what draws the line between social responsibility and social freedom. While there may be merits of social freedom, it is clear that social responsibility is more important in today’s work place. Proactive support for social responsibility in the United States depends on key individuals to spread this movement, now sometimes referred as the “Green movement”

Without proactive support and leadership, socially responsibility will fail and social freedoms will take precedent. The current white house administration has put key social issues in the national spot light. President Barack Obama has held a fiscal responsibility summit on February 23^rd, 2009, 35 day’s into his presidency. Obama with his calm but stern attitude pledged to reduce the national deficit in half by 2013. He will also reinstate the “pay as you go” plan which became popular during the Clinton administration. Obama’s leadership for social responsibility will help the demand for such ethical behavior be more prominent.

Secondly, U.S. Businesses have large inequalities fulfilling their social responsibilities. Many companies define what their responsibilities are, resulting in different functions. Wal-Mart has widely been held by social investors because of its efforts towards positive company culture, and diversity initiatives. However, some social investors may want to avoid investing in Wal-Mart because it destroyed local small businesses and once sold firearms. Other social investors favor industries over company culture. A solar panel company may be considered more of a socially responsible company than any retailer because of its importance to sustainability.

Furthermore, without leadership in social actions, we may never solve the environmental issues facing the United States. There are many citizens concerned with the environment and have changed their lifestyles to reflect those concerns. If information was readily available to business, reflecting environmental concerns, and support for change was institutionalized, socially responsibility would make headway. Without leadership, change will not occur and information will not be readily available. For years environmentalists have known the dangers of social freedoms of businesses had but it took, Al Gore and his movie “An Inconvenient truth” to make the issue a national concern and a hot political topic.

The Debate between social responsibility and social freedoms will continue in politics as long as there are priorities of economic and environmental issues. Proactive support is necessary for growth in social responsibility. An authority to determine the inequalities fulfilling social responsibility will be helpful to gain and spread knowledge of social roles. Environmental issues are a pillar of social roles that need to become a nationalized concern.