Climate Technology

A thorough job search reveals skills in high demand

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 explores the green job market and offers advice to eco-job-seekers looking to jumpstart their careers.

Is it hot out there, or is it just me? Lately, I've been hearing from employers who can't find the talent they need and more than a few lucky job seekers who have multiple offers. Are these just random anecdotes, or is the environmental job market heating up along with the summer thermometer?

In an effort to track down the story (and spend some paid time surfing the 'net), my crackerjack research staff devoted a day to searching government, nonprofit, "green business," and consulting websites for job postings. Here's what we found:

Soycott

Big soy companies pledge not to source from recently deforested Amazon Now for some Amazon news that won’t make you want to slit your wrists: Soy producers operating in Brazil — including U.S. agribiz giants Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland — announced yesterday that they will put a two-year stop to buying soybeans grown in […]

Long-Haired Freaky People Need Apply

Green job market heating up After hearing from environment-related employers struggling to fill open positions and green job-seekers receiving multiple offers, Kevin Doyle of the Environmental Careers Organization decided to do some job searching of his own. An examination of job postings at government agencies, nonprofits, green businesses, and environmental consulting firms in the U.S. […]

In working with Wal-Mart, activist Adam Werbach is abandoning his principles

In late 2004, Adam Werbach proclaimed that environmentalism was dead due to the movement’s unwillingness to connect with ordinary working people and its inability to effectively grapple with the most profound problem the earth has ever faced, climate change. His diagnosis was clear: In order to build the next liberal majority in this country, environmentalists […]

Al Gore takes his green message to Wal-Mart headquarters

Picture Al Gore standing in a modest auditorium deep in America’s heartland before an exultant crowd of Wal-Mart employees, comparing their campaign to lighten the company’s environmental footprint to the Allies’ righteous struggle in World War II. This after Rev. Jim Ball, head of the Evangelical Environmental Network, likened the giant retailer’s greening efforts to […]

Companies that green their supply chains can find savings galore

How many light bulbs does it take to change a supply chain? In the case of Baxter Healthcare Corp., just three. When Jenni Cawein, manager of corporate environmental health and safety engineering at the Illinois-based $9.8 billion health-care giant, arrived six years ago, she saw that the company was losing ground on waste. “I asked […]

Dispatch from a green-themed gathering of Wal-Mart execs

I write from a quarterly meeting of Wal-Mart managers and execs, focused on implementing CEO H. Lee Scott's eco-friendly vision. (For more on that vision, see my interview with Scott.)  

I never dreamed I'd find myself feeling anything but depressed after a day of immersive conference activities at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. But now that I'm here, I'm feeling decidedly optimistic.

Granted, I was a tad creeped out when the 800-plus members of the audience erupted in a Wal-Mart chant that involved much gesticulating, grunting, sky-punching, and the like. ("Give me a W ... A ... L ... etc. ... What does that spell? ... Who do we love? ...")

But generally speaking, there's a lot of hopeful news to report. More details will be forthcoming in next week's Muckraker, but here's a snapshot with a few highlights:

California Connected on organic and Wal-Mart

A nifty PBS show called California Connected recently did a special on organic food, focusing on Wal-Mart's decision to get into the organic-food market. It's unusually substantive and thoughtful (at least relative to cable tv fare). Check it out.

Al goes to Wal-Mart

Several blogs have noted this item about Al Gore addressing the upcoming quarterly meeting on sustainability at Wal-Mart. Apparently Rich Cizik, Adam Werbach, and some other eco-luminaries will be there as well, and some fairly significant stuff is going to be announced.

Our very own Amanda Griscom Little will be reporting from the scene. In the meantime, read her interview with Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, and to wash that corporate taste right out of your pristine progressive mouth, follow it up with this InterActivist with anti-Wal-Mart activist Al Norman.

What if the world cared about sustainability as much as soccer?

Over the last few weeks, much of the world has clustered around TVs, watching World Cup rivals fight for the right to hoist what may be the ugliest trophy in sport. Inevitable arguments have broken out over who ought to win, and who invented “the beautiful game.” As we head toward the final match this […]