A JG is key to promote and prioritize new environmental sustainability initiatives over profit motives

Forstater 06 (Mathew Forstater, Challenge , JULY-AUGUST 2006, Vol. 49, No. 4 (JULY-AUGUST 2006), pp. 58-72, Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd., “Green Jobs: Public Service Employment and Environmental Sustainability,” )//ghs-nehahaha

A PSE program can promote environmental sustainability in two important ways. First, since PSE activities do not seek profits, the ac- tivities are designed and evaluated according to social, macro, or en- vironmental efficiency criteria rather than cost-minimizing efficiency criteria of the private sector. My suggestion is akin to E.F. Schumacher's (1973) "appropriate technology": more labor-intensive methods of production may make sense even when more capital-intensive meth- ods are available. PSE activities can be designed to use fewer natural resources, cause less pollution, and reduce ecological damage. Even if the activities were environmentally neutral, the outcome would be more sustainable than a private sector stimulated to full employment. Moreover, PSE activities can be designed to perform environmental Challenge/July-August 2006 63 This content downloaded from 35.0.53.253 on Tue, 18 Jul 2023 18:46:13 +00:00 All use subject to http Forstater services. For example, a Green Jobs Corps could sustain the ecology in a variety of ways: community and industrial recycling, improved insulation for residential and commercial structures, carpooling, rooftop gardening and urban landscaping, solar energy applied to the public infrastructure (e.g., streetlights, schools, construction warn- ing signs, billboards), monitoring and enforcement, environmental education, and research support. Most activities do not require highly specialized skills, and the "learning by doing" effects could be considerable, as skills acquired by participants could be applied in the private sector, and this suc- cession would further promote sustainability. In addition, increased awareness of environmental and ecological issues on the part of both participants and the public could change consumption patterns, which is vital for long-term sustainability. Recycling and reuse present a tremendous opportunity for both job creation and environmental sustainability. We now know that "recycling is the singular environmental success story" of the 1990s: "many cities were able to increase the efficiency of their recycling efforts to the point that, on average, they compared very favorably with the costs of solid waste collection and disposal" (Folz 1999). Re- cycled materials are located in urban areas ready for use, while virgin materials are often located in remote areas (Ackerman 1997, 81). Re- cycling is more labor-intensive than waste disposal, and much of the labor need not be specially trained. Recycling has multiple benefits in that it not only means that society will utilize new materials at a slower rate, it also diverts materials from landfills and incinerators. Recycling can also result in a reduction of new resource depletion as well as pollution, if recycling itself does not pollute as much as new extraction and refining. Besides slowing the depletion rate, reduced use of some materials leaves resources to perform other environmental services, such as trees absorbing carbon dioxide. Recycling also can reduce costs in many areas. Major recycling efforts should be divided into at least two major categories: community-based and industrial. Community-based re- cycling entails collecting, sorting, and cleaning materials and other 64 Challenge/July-August 2006 This content downloaded from 35.0.53.253 on Tue, 18 Jul 2023 18:46:13 +00:00 All use subject to http Green Jobs jobs that anyone can perform and that contribute to the community and the environment. Repair for reuse entails another whole set of operations and may be considered separately. Repair efforts may be for the original owners or for reuse by someone else. Chicago's Creative Reuse Warehouse is a good model for demonstrating how such items as "used office furniture and supplies, salvaged lumber, and broken bikes are turned into valuable assets for communities, schools, and the general public" (Weinberg et al. 2000). A Green Jobs Corps can run both recycling and repair efforts. Industrial recycling zones and parks may also be sites for Green Jobs Corps employees to perform certain jobs. In addition to recycling and reuse, reconditioning is one of the important ways to create jobs and protect the environment: The creation of new skilled jobs can be achieved in parallel with a con- siderable reduction of the energy consumption through a prolongation of the useful life of materials and products . . . linear "production- use- dump" patterns have to be replaced, for instance, by recycling and reconditioning loops or spirals in order to reduce utilization cost and environmental charges. (Stahel and Reday-Mulvey 1981, xv) Reconditioning aims to extend the life of products rather than focusing on new goods, using recycled rather than virgin materials, and "closing material loops" through technological and fashion-up- grading of goods (Stahel 1997, 1311). One of the chief characteristics of contemporary unsustainable economies is planned obsolescence and throwaway products. "Wasting rates"- the share thrown away rather than recycled or reused^are high, and of course 100 percent for disposable products (Brown 2001). Michael Renner has estimated that weatherizing low-income housing units in the United States could create 1.4 to 1.8 million job-years, while resulting in significant con- servation of energy and increasing quality of life (Renner 1991, 27). A Green Jobs Corps could be employed at transforming homes and some businesses into having more efficient and more renewable heat- ing, lighting, cooling, and refrigeration. This does not have to mean every building becomes completely transformed and solar powered, although photovoltaics clearly need to be exploited more. Initial ef- Challenge/July-August 2006 65 This content downloaded from 35.0.53.253 on Tue, 18 Jul 2023 18:46:13 +00:00 All use subject to http Forstater forts may inspire homeowners and businesses to go further on their own. But even simple and basic adjustments would save money and reduce energy use. Better insulation alone could make a huge impact. Other types of weatherizing are also possible. Green Jobs Corps teams could be trained to visit, evaluate, educate, and make suggested or even required changes in a several-hour visit (patching areas, fixing items, blocking drafts, installing low-power shower heads). Another major area that could be addressed by a Green Jobs Corps is automobile use and traffic congestion. Long-term sustainability may require larger structural changes and a move to other forms of transportation, but in the short term, a well-organized vanpool sys- tem could reduce traffic congestion and pollution for those areas not served by good transit. The Green Jobs Corps could drive and repair the vehicles, and experiments could be conducted using alternative vehicle types and fuels. A ten-person vanpool cuts private, social, and environmental unit costs to 15-20 percent of single-operated-vehicle costs (Vuchic 1999, 307). If the van is more fuel-efficient or uses al- ternative materials or energy, these costs will fall even more. The Green Jobs Corps can also transform many items in the public infrastructure over to solar. Effective and reliable photovoltaic-pow- ered streetlights, school crossing lights, highway construction warning signs, and billboards now are available (Cole and Skerrett 1995). In addition to saving energy, decreasing pollution, and reducing costs, public use of solar in these ways will help educate the public about the efficiency and reliability of photovoltaic power. Another important area in which to involve the Green Jobs Corps is rooftop gardening and urban landscaping. The benefits of both these endeavors are little known. In addition to producing food (for humans), and food and habitat for wildlife, rooftop gardens and urban landscaping help purify air, soil, and water; provide air conditioning, shade, and windbreaks; and provide a productive sink for organic waste (Milani 2000, 105). Human waste could also be redirected and put to better use than polluting water. Modern composting toilet technologies are available and more user friendly than ever. Another area of concentration for PSE workers could be in what óó Challenge/July-August 2006 This content downloaded from 35.0.53.253 on Tue, 18 Jul 2023 18:46:13 +00:00 All use subject to http Green. Jobs might be called environmental defense or environmental security. It may be desirable to create a whole section of PSE especially for a green security force, specifically devoted to two major areas: monitoring and cleanup. The new laws and rules will only effect change if there is monitoring to ensure compliance. Often, environmental legislation is criticized as being difficult to monitor, that it can only be done with great effort. PSE can support monitoring efforts, as well as testing, much of which can be done with relatively basic training. For instance, samples can be collected for labs with almost no training. PSE workers can also support cleanup efforts. Obviously some types of cleanup require special skills and equipment, but a tremendous amount can be done with basic training, and much of it is more or less unskilled. With the support of a well-managed PSE plan, moni- toring and cleanup can be supported at a level that is consistent with the shift to sustainability. Environmental sustainability requires information dissemination and education. From preschool to the university, in the community and the workplace, sustainable practices cannot be adopted with- out changing some of our most ingrained habits. Moving from the waste-disposal mentality to the recycle/reuse/reduce/repair mentality requires socialization and education. PSE workers can do presenta- tions in classrooms and workplaces. They can set up tables in the community to demonstrate the effectiveness and simplicity of many sustainable practices. PSE workers in a Green Jobs Corps can help to cut research and development costs significantly by providing the labor to perform a variety of tasks, as well as contributing to sustainability in many other ways. The task here is not to give a comprehensive listing of such services, but to point to the possibilities for enhancing the en- vironment that is presented by a PSE program.