Color Me Green

Photo by: epSos.de

I like the color green and I am all about saving the world. Alright, maybe that isn’t possible, but at least help the environment from getting any worse than it is already. I reuse and recycle. Think about it do you enjoy living next to a land field? No. Do you enjoy the pollution? No. There is nothing good coming out of that, it only increases health problems.

Lucky for us we don’t have much to worry about anymore, or do we? The Government back in 2006 introduced to the world the “Green Collar Job(s).” Yes, Green Collar Job(s). Have you not heard of it yet? No worries. We have the two major employment sectors that we are all aware of: Blue Collar jobs are those involved with manual labor. White Collar jobs are those salary paid jobs. Green Collar Jobs are to help clean up the environment, and control global warming. Isn’t that cool? Many would be employed and stress free by the year 2025 which we will have generated over 5 million green jobs. Although, there is still much confusion as to what makes a Green Collar job and who qualifies. Those that are a part of the Blue Collar workforce are dancing on borderline fence of Green Collar. As explained by a Democratic candidate, Phil Angelides from California, those that fall in the Blue Collar labor force like building vehicles could be a Green Collar if they are building Hybrids. Blue to Green Collar. There is still so much that needs to be explained for people to truly understand Green Collar. The best example would be Solar Power Housing; they are truly helping the environment.

In everything there is always a catch, and there is definitely a catch to Green Collar jobs. Not everyone qualifies for these jobs. That is correct. Green Collar aims to help at-risk youth, people with criminal records, the chronically unemployed and those for whom English is a second language, said Mr. McDermott an assistant to the chairman at Consortium for Worker Education (CWE). There are many that are questioning this Green Collar …is it really helping the workforce? It is unclear if Green will only benefit those of low-income or if it will improve the environment. Just keep in mind that because it is an environmentally friendly job, it doesn’t mean that it’s a stable wage job.

This is really something we need to consider…it could create millions of jobs between now and the year 2030 or really hurt us in the long run.

What is your opinion on the Green Collar? Is it really Green or just another name for Blue Collar?





-Khon Phaxai