Climate Technology

GM’s plug-in hybrid: rumor or … OK, it’s a rumor

Via Groovy Green, we hear that GM may be making a plug-in hybrid, possibly to debut at an auto show as early as January.

I'll believe it when I see it, but damn I'd sure like to see it.

Step One: Get a Job With Better Health-Care Coverage

Wal-Mart to educate employees on environment and health Retail leviathan Wal-Mart, anxious to be the eco-friendliest big-box chain around, is developing a program to teach employees how to care for themselves and the environment. Anonymous sources say the as-yet-unveiled plan, tentatively named the Environmental Health and Wellness Program, will give employees practical advice, like using […]

Mackey v. Pollan

Foodie journalist Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma (review here; interview with Pollan here) makes some disturbing points about the increasingly industrial character of organic agriculture. It uses as its exemplar of "industrial organic" the burgeoning Whole Foods Market.

Whole Foods founder and CEO John Mackey took quite a bit of umbrage at that, and responded with a long, passionate letter about the work his store has done to nurture the organic movement and local agriculture.

On his blog (which is stupidly behind the NYT $elect wall), Pollan responds at some length.

Both letters are interesting reading, but the dispute basically boils down to Mackey saying "we do buy local" and Pollan saying "it doesn't really seem that way, but I sure hope you move in that direction." They are more or less in agreement on the direction things need to go.

I thought this point by Pollan was apt:

What jobs are included in the environmental field?

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.

I received an email the other day from a professor who wanted fresh, expert-certified information about the green job scene. (No snickering about the abysmally low standards for "expert" status, please.) His college planned to offer a new environmental studies degree, and the state legislators wanted to know whether graduates would become gainfully employed in exchange for their four years and $80,000. Picky, picky, picky.

"It'll be a slam dunk!" the prof answered. "Employers will greet our graduates like liberators, throwing flowers at their feet when they enter the lobby!" It was a powerfully convincing argument, but unlike some government leaders we can think of, the governor required actual data before ponying up the taxpayer's cash. This is the kind of limited, inside-the-box, "reality-based" leadership our nation's professors must contend with.

At any rate, an academically rigorous search for verifiable numbers set sail. (Translation: an intern typed keywords into Google.) Immediately, the project ran into an iceberg of a question: How does one define "environmental" jobs in 2006?

Employ Story

What counts as an “environmental” job? It used to be that environmental jobs were easy to identify, involving folks working directly with the land, air, and water. But today, says Kevin Doyle of the Environmental Careers Organization, all manner of occupations can be thought of as green. That’s great news, of course — unless you’re […]

How a business can pick the best packaging

You’ve created the World’s Greenest Product, and you’re shipping it off to your first big customer. You’ve made it from the most environmentally sensitive materials, using only renewable energy. It’s the pinnacle of eco-friendly everything. Special delivery. Photo: iStockphoto. So what are you going to pack it in, cardboard or plastic? And how are you […]

Starbucks and milk

My wife, who is in the coffee business (and an unreconstructed coffee snob), is fond of saying that it’s misleading to call Starbucks a “coffee shop.” Starbucks’ primary beverage product is milk. Coffee is just one of the flavorings — along with chocolate, syrups, chai, and lord knows what else — they use in their […]

New green/labor alliance brings Sierra Club and Steelworkers together

Organized labor and environmentalists — engaged in an on-again-off-again flirtation for years — may finally be getting to third base. Greens and blues are shaking things up. Photo: iStockphoto. Last week, Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, and Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, announced the formation of the Blue/Green Alliance, […]

Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation president, answers questions

Jeffrey Hollender. What work do you do? I’m president of Seventh Generation, though lately I’ve been referring to myself as the Inspired Protagonist, providing the vision and inspiration to carry the company forward. How does your work relate to the environment? Photos: Seventh Generation. Our company provides nontoxic cleaners, recycled paper towels and tissues, and […]

What Peter Rabbit can teach businesses about going global

What goes around, they say, comes around — or, in this case, hops about in a blue waistcoat, munching stolen radishes. Our subject today is no visionary CEO, but Peter Rabbit, probably the best-known creation of children’s author Beatrix Potter. Peter, ever the rebel. The World of Beatrix Potter™ © Frederick Warne & Co., 1902; […]