Greetings from New England – Home to Green Jobs, But No Polar Bears

Residents of Pittsfield, Massachusetts who stay close to home may not have seen a polar bear in – well – a long time, and the economy may be in a general slump. but the town fathers and mothers have seen a recent growth in green jobs.  The Berkshire Eagle reports that The Center for Ecological Technology, a long-serving nonprofit provider of energy efficiency services, has doubled its work force from 35 to 70 employees over the past year.  It has yet to fill five other positions, including that of the firm’s first human resources officer.

According to the Eagle, the nonprofit’s directors attribute the growth spurt to a commitment from the state to make energy efficiency a cornerstone of its energy policy and that this has led utility cntlyhe new hires, CET recently and mothers are happy to report a growth in greeen ompanies to sponsor an increased number of efficiency initiatives.  The Center provides residential audits of energy use, and recommends ways to use less energy.  The local community college supports that efforts with green job training.  The paper also reports that of the 14,400 green jobs in Massachusetts, 43 percent involve energy efficiency.

Efficiency improvement remains not only the most important of energy-related goals, but also a source of great promise for new jobs, as energy utilities across the country use stimulus dollars and ratepayer funds to aggressively expand energy efficiency programs.

energy efficiency, green jobs, polar bears