Green Collar Jobs IdeaLab

This idealab is a launching pad to establish long-term relationships with bay area centers devoted to the Green Collar Job movement, as well as with local city governments as they implement policies affecting the Green Collar economy to assist in their social and political efforts. The group intends to combine their collective research and connections to create a document outlining the different ways UC Berkeley community members can get substantively involved in and contribute to the Green Collar Jobs movement.

Project mission:

By Spring 2009, we intend to combine our collective research and connections to create a document outlining the different ways UC Berkeley community members can get substantively involved in and contribute to the Green Collar Jobs movement. We would like the information made available as a link on the website of related campus research groups and organizations.

Required resources:

1. Total project needs: $2,500

Additional info:

At the heart of the Green Collar Jobs movement is the goal to shape the emerging green economy in a way that strengthens our nation’s foundation by empowering impoverished individuals with new skills and economic security. The University of California, Berkeley is perfectly situated to contribute substantially to this most worthwhile dream. Our long history of social activism, combined with today’s vast array of cutting edge research in clean technologies and green policy provide us with the expertise and motivation to make a difference helping to shape the future dynamic of local communities and state-wide policy in this field. California is taking the national lead in implementation of energy efficiency and air quality standards; we want to ensure it is taking the lead for the establishment of the Green Collar workforce as well.

We would like to capitalize on the momentum of the various campus groups working in areas of clean technologies, social justice, environmental advocacy and international human rights to forge lasting bonds with the organizations dedicated to local, national, and global Green Collar movement. We want to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities and connections in the larger bay area – the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, the San Francisco office of the Apollo Alliance, Urban Habitat, the East Bay Green Corridor project, and the innumerable business, legal and financial players in the cleantech sector in order to make this happen. We would like to set the stage for recurrent internship or externship programs, assist the centers in policy research, and help throw the weight of this great University behind the cause. Lastly, we hope to develop stronger relationships with local city governments as they implement the policies affecting the Green Collar economy, in order to assist in their social and political efforts.