Green Collar Research Articles

Transforming Brown Practices into Green Jobs: Training Intervention and Green Job Motivation of Agripreneuship Trainees

Purpose: Within the backdrop of labor market uncertainty for young people and environmental externalities, the study tested the effect of training intervention on green collar job motivation of agripreneuship trainees in a green growth project in Mezam, North West Cameroon. Focus was on training, attitude and social pressure as determinants of green job motivation off agripreneurs. Materials and Methods: The study adopted a quantitative survey design with the goal of data on green collar job training and motivation and a sample of 125 participants (71 females; 54 males) was recruited from a training intervention initiative from Mezam, North West Cameroon. An instrument with internal reliability consistency (α=0.74) was used to gather information. The information was entered into SPSS version 27, and correlation and hierarchical regression were used as test statistics. Findings: According to the results, it was reported as a significant predictor of green job motivation, p < 0.05. In the second model capacity building and attitude significantly determined green job motivation p < 0.05. While the third model (capacity enhancement, attitude, social pressure) was significant, p < 0.05, social pressure as a separate dimension failed to determine green job motivation, p > 0.05, of agripreneurs trainees. From the results of the study it was reported that training factors were capable of predicting green job motivation and the need for transforming brown occupations was also recognised within green growth venture. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: Green economic activities have undergone evolution with demands for new skills and training should be recognized as a sustainable measure of green collar job behaviours. Considering the position of green growth models in developing green collar mindset, it asserts that greener occupations are capable of catalysing wealth creation, environmental justice and sustainable and should be promoted. Therefore, advocates of green employment should draw from policy strategies and enrich training programmes to be more responsive to changing environmental, suggesting transformation from brown to green through green mindset building. While the paper contributes to scarce body of knowledge in green jobs, implications for policy and practice have been presented with areas for future research

Yeşil İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi ve Yeşil İş Yetkinliklerinin İçerik Analizi Yöntemi İle Değerlendirilmesi (Green Human Resources Management and Evaluation of Green Business Competencies by Content Analysis Method)

Purpose – While efforts to contribute to environmental transformation and not to harm natural resources create significant effects in the field of human resources, they reveal new business areas and new competencies In this study, it was aimed to investigate what green-collar professions are within the scope of Green Human Resources Management and which competencies to be sought in these professions. In the study in which the content analysis method was used, it was revealed which qualifications, competencies and characteristics are sought in these job advertisements. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, job advertisements of green collar professions given in various job search sites were examined. In this study, which uses the content analysis method, it was revealed what qualities, competencies and characteristics were sought in these job advertisements. Job advertisements and the required competencies were examined by content analysis method within the framework of research keywords.The results were converted to quantitative data such as frequency and percentage. Findings – Environmental science, climate change, recycling, hazardous waste issues are important issues for all green job positions, at the same time competence in green jobs includes being an expert in these issues. Being proactive, having strong interpersonal communication skills, thinking analytically and analyzing data are still among the competencies that remain important. Discussion – It is important for the employees to have green approach competencies in order to spread the green culture throughout the organization. Competencies such as having knowledge and experience in green jobs and environmental control, environmental health, safety and protection, having knowledge about environmental science and climate change, recycling and hazardous wastes, having experience in quality standards, project management skills are important.

Maintenance of public and private urban green infrastructure provides significant employment in Eastern Cape towns, South Africa

Urban green infrastructure (UGI) provides numerous environmental, social and economic benefits through direct and indirect use of ecosystem services. The maintenance of UGI also provides work opportunities for skilled and unskilled workers in the public and private sectors, so-called green collar jobs. However, the extent and benefit of such employment has rarely been examined, especially in a developing country context where unemployment is often high. We quantified the number of green collar jobs and wage levels across all green collar categories in 12 towns of the Eastern Cape via means of questionnaires and interviews. Overall, we enumerated 17 429 jobs, receiving approximately ZAR503 million (US$37 million) per year. The number of jobs was strongly linked to town size, but the number of jobs per unit area was inversely related to the level of underdevelopment or deprivation per town. Two-thirds of the jobs were in the informal sector in the form of low-skilled workers acting as gardeners to middle- and upper-income households. The remainder were split more or less equally between the formal private and public sectors. The nature of private and public sector jobs varied in relation to the broader macro-economy of each town. Thus, the provision and maintenance of UGI in towns and cities of the developing world can be seen as not only an investment in environmental sustainability and liveability, but also an investment in economic welfare and poverty alleviation, especially in situations where unemployment is high.

Keragaman Morfologi Daun Padi Lokal Indonesia dan Korelasinya dengan Ketahanan Penyakit Hawar Daun Bakteri

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) is one of the major diseases of rice plants mainly in irrigated rice caused by pathogenic bacteria Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Leaf morphology becomes an interesting character to be investigated due to its relationship with the intensity of BLB disease, because the leaf is the part of plant which is infected by the bacteria. The purpose of this research was to obtain information on the variability of leaf morphology and its correlation with BLB diseases, to support plant breeding program of BLB disease-resistant rice varieties. A total of 25 local rice accessions were characterized phenotypically. Leaf morphological characters were examined without replication, while in Xoo resistance (pathotype IV) test was done by using randomized block design with three replications. Characterization on leaf morphology indicated that all local rice accessions had green collar, transparent auricle color, white ligule color, and 2-cleft ligule shape. In four weeks after inoculation, four accessions (Ketan Lomah Hitam, Bumbuy Inih, Gonggoi, and Waren) showed disease severity percentages of BLB diseases on the range between 13-16%. These observations indicated that these accessions had slightly sussceptible response to BLB diseases wich were better than the other accessions. Leaf-surface morphology was positively correlated with BLB disease. The four accessions were feathery or slightly hairy with a short-sized leaf. The results of this research could be used as a reference for developing of BLB resistance rice varieties.

Whatever Happened to Green Collar Jobs? Populism and Clean Energy Transition

In today’s populist moment, climate change response has become anything but “postpolitical.” The project to decarbonize energy supplies is generating ongoing political clashes today, including between competing forms of capital/ism. In the United States, rising renewable energy industries in places like California contend with fossil fuel blocs and their regional bases. Such confrontations are sparking populist organizing on the right and left. I argue that critical geography must further consider left populist movements’ role in these politics of clean energy transition, grievance, and reparation and openings for collectively advancing more liberatory futures. I survey a wave of coalition-building that has evolved in the United States since the beginnings of the New Economy, allying U.S. environmentalists, organized labor, and, more recently, racial and community justice organizers. This movement became most visible as it built networks around calls for national “green collar” job creation during the late 2000s financial crisis and 2008 presidential campaign. Its organizing shaped noteworthy, if ultimately limited Obama administration programs and continues to influence clean energy rollout in regions such as California, particularly campaigns for job quality and racial diversity in green construction. I consider here both these successes and their limits in a turbulent clean-tech sector: the need for farther reaching transformations in energy–industrial policy and democratic participation in shaping them. Key Words: clean energy transition, climate change, green collar jobs, green economy, populism.

Contingent work in the US recycling industry: Permatemps and precarious green jobs

Over the last decade US economic policy discourse has held that a turn toward green industry (e.g., renewable energy, recycling, green construction), is a vital solution to the dual crises of environmental degradation and the erosion of high quality blue collar work. At the same time, the US economy has seen the expansion of ever more precarious and contingent work. One manifestation of this increase of precarious work is the growth of the temp industry and particularly the proliferation of permatemps—workers pursuing fulltime, permanent employment through staffing services, often in insecure and poorly-compensated positions. In this research we explore the experience of work in recycling plants in the US and analyze the entwinement of recycling companies and temp agencies. Based on interviews and observations at recycling plants and temp agencies in three Central Illinois counties, we find that recycling companies face a management tension in which workers must be highly regimented but also very flexible—choreographed yet unscripted. Recyclers turn to temp agencies to resolve this tension. Temp firms provide a flexible-yet-vulnerable workforce and in other ways assist recyclers in regulating labor and producing vulnerability, which transforms workers into fungible bodies trapped on a treadmill of low-wage work. The fundamentally unsafe and insecure character of recycling work calls into question the rosy notion of high-quality, career track green collar jobs. Instead, temp work in the recycling industry exemplifies precariousness.

The Projected Impact of a Neighborhood-scaled Green Infrastructure Retrofit.

Climate change and its related factors are increasing the frequency of hurricanes, coastal storms, and urban flooding. Recovery from disasters can be slow, with jurisdictions failing to build back better, wasting time and money without improving resilience to the next disaster. To help attenuate floods and mitigate their impacts, Low Impact Development (LID) and the incorporation of green infrastructure (GI) is gaining in popularity. LID installs more natural methods of absorbing, redirecting, retaining, and filtering water, through GI installations such as rain gardens, detention ponds, and the reduction of impervious surfaces. LID is, however, primarily implemented and evaluated only on a local scale; few studies have assessed the broader impacts of GI on a larger scale. In fact, most performance calculators that evaluate the effects of GI are only useful at the site scale. Further, most advocates of GI propose its use in new developments, without much attention to retrofitting existing, suburban development. This article seeks to determine what the potential effects of retrofitting an existing, suburban neighborhood with GI for flood protection at a larger scale could be, using Sugar Land, Texas, USA as a case site. First, low-impact facilities are proposed and schematically designed at a site scale for a typical single-family lot. The volume of rainfall that can be retained on site, due to each incorporated feature, is then derived using the Green Values National Storm Water Management Calculator. Using this data, the total volume of rainfall that could be retained if all residential sites in Sugar Land incorporate similar facilities is then projected. The result show that Sugar Land has the capacity to capture 56 billion liters of stormwater water annually if all residential properties use LID. Additional benefits of the use of GI include reduced heat (37%), improved aesthetics and property values (20%), increased recreational opportunities (18%), improved water quality (12%), improved air quality (5%), increased green collar jobs (4%), reduced damage from harmful gas emissions (3%), and increased energy savings (1%), thereby surpassing conventional storm water management techniques [1].

Development Paths and Mechanisms of Green Collar Human Resource in China: Based on Classification and Green Literacy Survey

With the development of concerns about environmental issues and advocacy and layout of the Green Economy in almost every country, a large number of Green-collar human resources demands inevitably have emerged. Green human resource development has become extremely urgent and important. It becomes significant to explore the approaches and major mechanisms for the development of green talent resources. Based on the clarification of the green meaning and extension meaning, and the literature review of green work, green employment and green the authors summarize and analyze the unique working and living values, norms and behaviors of green collar. Then, 300 Chinese white-collars in workplace were investigated for their Green Literacy in their daily work and life. The survey found that the green behavior of employees in their daily work and life is not optimistic, and lacking of environmental legal knowledge, know-how skills of coping environment and pollution issues, supportive hardware facilities and cultural atmosphere were major Problem. According to the two essential classification dimensions of the Green-collars: green work and work greenly, the authors put forward the following categories of Green-collar human resources: “Non-green collar, Light green collar, Fake green collar, True green collar and Decent green collar, Accordingly two typical evolution paths and development approaches were identified. Finally, the authors proposed and discussed the major Green-collar talents development mechanisms, including national green macroeconomic guidance, government policy support, green company certification and green management practices in enterprises, green culture propaganda, green-collar talents education and training, green work and life support in workplace, and society communication between green collars.

Acute joint pain in the emerging green collar workforce: Evidence from the linked National Health Interview Survey and Occupational Information Network (O*NET).

Green jobs are a rapidly emerging category of very heterogeneous occupations that typically involve engagement with new technologies and changing job demands predisposing them to physical stressors that may contribute to the development of joint pain. We estimated and compared the prevalence of self-reported acute (past 30 days) joint pain between green and non-green collar workers using pooled 2004-2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data linked to the Occupational Information Network Database (O*NET). Green collar workers have a higher prevalence of acute joint pain as compared to non-green collar workers. Green collar workers with pain in the upper extremity joints were significantly greater than in the non-green collar workforce, for example, right shoulder [23.2% vs 21.1%], right elbow [13.7% vs 12.0%], left shoulder [20.1% vs 18.2%], and left elbow [12.0% vs 10.7%]. Acute joint pain reported by the emerging green collar workforce can assist in identifying at risk worker subgroups for musculoskeletal pain interventions.

Chemical and Physical Exposures in the Emerging US Green-Collar Workforce.

"Green collar" workers serve in occupations that directly improve environmental quality and sustainability. This study estimates and compares the prevalence of select physical and chemical exposures among green versus non-green U.S. workers. Data from the U.S. 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Occupational Health Supplement were linked to the Occupational Information Network (ONET) Database. We examined four main exposures: 1) vapors, gas, dust, fumes (VGDF); 2) secondhand tobacco smoke; 3) skin hazards; 4) outdoor work. Green-collar workers were significantly more likely to report exposure to VGDF and outdoor work than nongreen-collar workers [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.25; 95% CI = 1.11 to 1.40; AOR = 1.44 (1.26 to 1.63), respectively]. Green-collar workers were less likely to be exposed to chemicals (AOR = 0.80; 0.69 to 0.92). Green-collar workers appear to be at a greater risk for select workplace exposures. As the green industry continues to grow, it is important to identify these occupational hazards in order to maximize worker health.

Green Collar Workers: An Emerging Workforce in the Environmental Sector.

We describe the socio-demographic, occupational, and health characteristics of "green collar" workers, a vital and emerging workforce in energy-efficiency and sustainability. We linked data from the 2004 to 2012 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) and US Occupational Information Network (O*NET). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted using green collar worker status as the outcome (n = 143,346). Green collar workers are more likely than non-green workers to be men, age 25 to 64 years, obese, and with less than or equal to high school (HS) education. They are less likely to be racial/ethnic minorities and employed in small companies or government jobs. Green collar workers have a distinct socio-demographic and occupational profile, and this workforce deserves active surveillance to protect its workers' safety. The NHIS-O*NET linkage represents a valuable resource to further identify the unique exposures and characteristics of this occupational sector.

The Association between Osteoarthritis and Occupational Clusters in the Korean Population: A Nationwide Study.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a considerable health problem worldwide. It is known to be associated with certain occupational risk factors. We examined the prevalence rate of OA by occupational cluster. Data were collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (2010–2013). The total number of unweighted sample size was 9,905 participants: 4,460 men and 5,445 women, and OA prevalence was 5.3% and 18.4% respectively. OA patients were defined as participants with knee/hip joint pain and radiographic change of knee/hip joint. Occupational type was classified as either white, pink, blue, or green collar based on the occupational characteristics following physical demand: white for manager and professionals; pink for clerks and service/sales workers; blue for craft/trade workers, machine operators and assemblers, and elementary manual workers; and green for agricultural/fishery workers. We calculated the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the odds of a participant’s having OA according to the occupational cluster, with gender stratification. The multiple logistic regression model showed that, compared to the white collar group, the ORs of the pink, blue, and green collar workers were 1.23 (95% CI 0.64–2.36), 1.85 (95% CI 1.18–2.88), and 2.91 (95% CI 1.86–4.54), respectively, in males, and 2.53 (95% CI 1.71–3.73), 2.86 (95% CI 1.94–4.21), and 3.90 (95% CI 2.60–5.83), respectively in females. The prevalence rate of OA was associated with the occupational cluster, in order from highest to lowest: green, blue, pink, and white collar.

Green collar work: Conceptualizing and exploring an emerging field of work

AbstractIn this paper, I consider “green collar work,” broadly defined as work intended to counter environmental degradation. I consider what might count as green collar work and compare the greening of work in different sectors, including industrial production, service work, working on “nature,” and expert work. I look also at how organizations affect the “greenness” of work. I stress that “green work” is not consistent across time and place and that it is important to understand the interdependencies between different kinds of work. As this is a new topic in sociology, I draw on research from different social science disciplines.

Occupational Skin Conditions in the Emerging US Green Collar Workforce.

Financial support for this study provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) grant R03-OH010124.

Book Reviews: The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems and The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet

Book Reviews: The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems and The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet

Occupational and Skills Needs in the Green Building Sector in the Philippines

The PHILGBC and the ILO have conducted a study that seeks to understand the occupational and skills needs in the green building sector in the Philippines. Decision makers, both in the public and private sector need to understand that matching the growing interest in greener buildings with competent skills is important to ensure sustained growth of demand for green building. Currently, green building is seen to have the highest potential to solve most of the environmental challenges in developing countries.In the study conducted, most respondents indicate that there is a strong need to understand the role buildings play in the environment and the economy in order to give significant attention to greening of new and existing buildings. The BERDE Green Building Rating System is a tool to guide professionals in designing buildings and is key in measuring environmental performance. It will require significant skills upgrade of professionals and of the skilled and semi-skilled workforce. The study has found that developing “specialist courses” for both building professionals and the labor force will help facilitate a smoother transition to green collar work.

Booker T. and the New Green Collar Workforce: An Earth-Based Reassessment of the Philosophy of Booker T. Washington

This article suggests the need for a new “green” and “Earth-based” reassessment of the work of Booker Taliafaro Washington. Although it includes global and national perspectives, the African American community of South Central Los Angeles will provide the primary perspective. A general societal overreliance on petroleum-based chemicals has worked to the long-term environmental detriment of the African American community there. This article draws upon the works of four key environmental activists: Benjamin Chavis Muhammad, Robert Bullard, Van Jones, and Majora Carter. Working across a range of academic disciplines, the authors integrate contemporary “diagnostic” concepts of community health and environmental justice with older “prescriptive” concepts of employment in the primary trades and community self-reliance. The authors suggest that these old “Bookerite” concepts merit reconsideration, reframing, and re-messaging. The life’s work of Washington has therefore been recast here, in light of its newfound green relevance for the African American community, today.

Power hungry: the myths of "green" energy and the real fuels of the future

In this title, the author of Gusher of Lies examines the hard facts of supply and demand to underscore the vast quantities of power we need, and how little of that horsepower can come from 'renewable' sources - and then shows that the US has vast resources at hand, if only it dares muster the political will needed to tap them. The popular appeal of 'green jobs' and a 'green collar economy' based on a 'clean energy future' is obvious. But the sober reality is that it has taken the U.S. more than a century to build an economy based on fossil fuels. Moving it off those carbon-based fuels will take decades and require trillions of dollars of new investment. The U.S. and the rest of the world cannot - and will not - quit using carbon-based fuels at any time in the near future for a simple reason: they provide the horsepower that we crave. flatly rejects the conventional wisdom. For instance: we don't care about energy, we care about horsepower. Bryce's other heresies: oil is green. Renewables are not. The US should emulate France and Iran. Carbon capture and sequestration won't work. And perhaps most surprising of all: the US leads the world in energy efficiency and better still, those efficiency gains are accelerating. Power Hungry explains why hydrocarbons (coal, oil, and natural gas) are here to stay while explaining that the fuels of the future are natural gas and nuclear...Bryce also provides an optimistic look forward, by showing that the US now has a surfeit of natural gas and its industrial companies are among the world's best at developing nuclear power. Going green is a journey. To get there, America needs more than political rhetoric; it needs to make good decisions and smart investments based on facts. This book, based on easily verifiable data - all of it backed up with a phalanx of footnotes and easy-to-understand charts and graphics - provides a clear-eyed view of what America has 'in the tank', how many miles it must still travel, and what it will take to transform the global energy sector.

Tragedies of Disaster

12 January 2010 By Ron Haviv VII Photo Agency Brooklyn, New York March 4-26, 2010 On January 12, at 4:53pm in Haiti, an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude struck the poorest country in the Americas, flattening buildings and injuring and killing hundreds of thousands of people. The epicenter was just south of the town of Leogane. Millions of people were affected, including those from many other countries that quickly dispatched an array of relief efforts. Despite this assistance, significant landmarks including the Presidential Palace and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti were destroyed. Rescue and recovery missions retrieved an exorbitant number of bodies, many of which were left in empty lots due to the lack of facilities and available burial space. Mass graves were necessary, despite the fact that Haitian culture celebrates individual rituals. In addition, emergency medical procedures, such as amputations, were conducted by foreign doctors who worked aggressively to prevent the spread of disease. In a single day, Haiti was irrevocably altered. The day after, photographer Ron Haviv flew down on assignment for People magazine to document the devastation. Haviv's new series of approximately forty photographs. titled Haiti: 12 January 2010, attempts to capture the overwhelming aftermath of this event that undeniably affected the world. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Haviv treats each photograph as an isolated moment in the larger aftermath of the earthquake, using descriptions of each event as titles. This series of photographs begins with the description A girl cries while receiving treatment at a makeshift clinic run by Americans from the Church of Latter Day Saints, Mennoniles, Cuban doctors and Haitian medical students, which captures a close-up portrait of a young girl wearing a shirt with a green collar and holding her head back, exhausted, as her eyes brim with tears. Two additional images titled Bodies lie in a makeshift morgue and Bodies lie side by side at a destroyed funeral home begin to convey the reality of pain and loss that has descended upon this small country. In both cases, bodies are cither covered, or partially captured, preserving the dignify of (hose who died. Haviv also captured the ubiquitous handwritten signs proclaiming, We Need Help! Thousands of people gather outside the National Palace depicts a woman dressed in shorts, shirt, and a sweater resting a hand on her head as she stares at the growing number of people congregating at the government's capital seeking humanitarian assistance. …

Green collar jobs: environmental careers for the 21st century

Green collar jobs: environmental careers for the 21st century