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Lung Out to Dry

Thousands of Manhattanites suffer post-9/11 respiratory problems With all due respect to the Free-Floating Anxiety and War Fever afflicting many in the post-9/11 world (prescription: less talk radio), at least 15,000 people have actual medical complaints related to the attack. Many victims afflicted with “World Trade Center cough” assumed it would pass once the dust […]

An eco-career guru answers reader mail

As director of program development at The Environmental Careers Organization, Kevin Doyle knows a thing or two about job searching. In this recurring column for Grist, he'll explore the green job market and offer advice to eco-job-seekers looking to jumpstart their careers.

Here's a career-development tip for would-be writers and bloggers: Don't miss your deadlines! I'm sorry for letting so much time pass between postings.

To get back in your good graces, I've decided to dip into the mailbag and address some of the many questions you've asked. Happy reading, and thanks for your patience.

I am an undergraduate student trying to figure out my career path, as many of us are. I am looking at careers in either environmental science or environmental engineering -- what job opportunities are available in these two fields?    -- Katherine M., British Columbia

Dear Katherine,

Many of us are years removed from our undergraduate days and still "trying to figure out our career paths." So join the club! You've selected two perfect career options for the early 21st century. There is a very strong demand for both environmental scientists and environmental engineers right now, and consulting firms are particularly looking for talented people.

The "environmental scientist" title is usually given to people who work on air- and water-quality issues and/or toil in fields like hazardous-waste management. Scientific fields that are not labeled "environmental scientist" by the-people-who-label-these-things include popular science options like conservation science, forestry, many specialties within biology, atmospheric science, earth science, chemistry, and a wide variety of technicians.

Within the narrow definition, there are around 70,000 enviro-scientists in the country, and their numbers are growing faster than the overall economy. Starting salaries are about $36,000 a year and top out around $85,000. Just under half of these professionals work for state and local government, and another 20 percent for the feds. The other third is in the private sector.

Job opportunities are even stronger for those with environmental-engineering degrees. There are some 55,000 such engineers, over half of whom work for consulting firms and other businesses. Entry-level salaries for people with Bachelor of Science degrees are over $50K, and high salaries for non-managers are up around six figures. The median is $66,000.

Good work. Good money. Good prospects. Looks good.

Greenzones.org

Good lord, it looks like a whooole lotta money went into this. The "about" page goes to an error, as does the "investors" page and the "press" page. Anybody know anything about it?

(There's probably a press release about it somewhere in my inbox, but I get about 50 a day and can't really keep up with all of them.)

A new breeding program aims to revive the gray nurse shark

Ahoy once again, me faithful readers! 'Tis been too long since our last voyage, and some interesting goings-on have passed me harbor in the meantime. First, I share some grave news for me fellow pirates -- that happens to be good news for me fellow greens: Greenpeace has been a'pirate huntin' off West Africa! I'd suggest they walk the plank for that, had I not seen this bit here: "Pirate fishing is a global threat to the oceans and those who depend on them." Well, I do reckon I'm in that second camp, and thus I raise my rum noggin to their efforts. And while I've got that rum noggin raised, let me also make mention of these poor buckos, who are trying to count every last fish in the sea for the sake of science. Godspeed with that project, I say. Godspeed.

And speaking of counting fish, I share with ye this story about dwindling gray nurse shark (pictured above, copyright Richard Ling) numbers in Australia and what scientists are doing about it: They're using artificial wombs.

Umbra on climate-change patterns

While I am in no doubt about the effect of human activity on climate change, I have a friend who is convinced that even if we weren’t destroying the earth, the earth’s own weather patterns would be in global-warming stage anyway. How do we know the current climate change isn’t just an inevitable part of […]

Katrina aftermath watch, wrist-slash edition

Hey, remember Hurricane Katrina? Big storm? Wiped out a major American city and several small towns? Exposed the utter incompetence and venality of the current administration? Small taste of things to come as global warming accelerates?

Yeah, it's kind of slipped off the radar. But if you imagine the worst combination of big-money pandering, racial politics, and corruption of which politicians are capable ... that's pretty much what's going on down on the Gulf Coast at the moment. I challenge you to read this piece from Matt Taibbi and not get righteously pissed off.

This is the kind of thing that inclines me toward pessimism about the coming shocks and dislocations brought about by energy shortages and global warming. America has rallied and overcome challenges before. And it's possible we will this time too. But it seems to me that the spirit of public service and public welfare has become so denuded that there's virtually nothing left to rally. A country that could let this happen, a country so comfortable with depredations visited on the poor and weak by the wealthy and powerful ...

It does not inspire confidence.

PSA on Mongabay

The Mongabay rainforest site, an excellent educational resource for science and info on the state of the world's rainforests, has been updated and revised.

You think?

Condoleezza Rice:

We do have to do something about the energy problem. I can tell you that nothing has really taken me aback more as secretary of State than the way that the politics of energy is -- I will use the word warping -- diplomacy around the world. It has given extraordinary power to some states that are using that power in not very good ways for the international system, states that would otherwise have very little power. It is sending some states that are growing very rapidly in an all-out search for energy -- states like China, states like India -- that is really sending them into parts of the world where they've not been seen before, and challenging, I think, for our diplomacy. It is, of course, an energy supply that is still heavily dependent on hydrocarbons, which makes more difficult our desire to have growth, environmental protection and reliable energy supply all in a package.

Sierra Club investigation: Bankruptcy Bill helps corporate polluters dodge costs

The Sierra Club has an in-depth investigation up on the corporate practice of using loopholes in the horrific Bankruptcy Bill to shift the costs of pollution clean-up onto taxpayers. I haven't read the whole thing yet -- just thinking about that bill makes my stomach hurt -- but it looks to be a humdinger. Check it out.

(Carl Pope summarizes.)

Fun events to attend this spring

If you're into eco-design, there are all kinds of conferences and meetings and such you can attend around the country. Today's Dig This will run down a few coming up in the next month.

April 13-16, Eugene, Ore.: HOPES (Holistic Options for Planet Earth Sustainability) conference at the University of Oregon. The 12th edition of the "only ecological design conference developed and managed by students." This year's theme: permanence/impermanence. How very Eugene.

April 19-20, Baltimore, Md.: The TurnKey Conference of the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (whew!). The conference, all about humane treatment of lab animals, includes many sessions on facility design. No, I'm not making a statement about the rights or wrongs of animal testing here. Don't shoot the messenger.

April 25-27, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: EnvironDesign 10. Includes a visit to the world's first LEED-certified winery. And tons of design workshops too.

May 3-7, Atlanta, Ga.: EDRA 37 (PDF), the 37th annual conference of the Environmental Design Research Association. Topics range from Crime and the Built Environment to Environmental Gerontology. Speakers include former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young and recent Grist interviewee Dr. Robert Bullard.

May 4-7, Shepherdstown, W.V.: The Architecture of Sustainability, put on by the American Institute of Architects' Committee on Design and Committee on the Environment. Topics include "Is Sustainable Design an Oxymoron?" Hopefully they will find the answer to be no.

The huge Dig This international audience can find upcoming events in Australia, the U.K., and Estonia.

Anything I've missed?