IREC - Energy efficiency curriculae: where it all started

Energy efficiency curriculae: where it all started
By Jane Pulaski -- Origionally Published on irecusa.org: May 16, 2011 - A version of this article appeared as a feature in the IREC email newsletter

Feature: Energy Efficiency Education: a conversation with NEEi's Roger Ebbage

Roger’s a very compelling (though modest) kind of guy.  Back in 1992, he convinced Lane Community College (LCC) to hire him as its Energy Management Coordinator, and (not surprisingly) transformed a moribund program into the national model for energy education.  We all owe him, big time.  Today, as the Northwest Energy Education Institute’s (NEEi) Director of Energy and Water Programs, Roger’s visionary work continues—he’s busier than ever.  I called him on Earth Day (how appropriate) to chat about his work and the changes he’s seen over the past two decades.  As with the first time we talked, Roger was gracious, compelling and modest.  Read more...

irec-energyefficency-education_rogerebbage_neei.pdf

Community College Training for Managing Green Jobs

By Elizabeth Olson
Origionally Published on nytimes.com: August 25, 2010 - A version of this article appeared in print on August 26, 2010, on page F8 of the New York edition.

Selected hightlight from article.
Government money is helping smaller institutions build programs that train students in various emerging and established energy fields.

Entire article:  community_colleges_on_green_studies_nytimes.pdf
Origional article Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/education/26GREEN.html

The Promise of "Green" and a dash of "reality"

President Obama's administration is trying to play its part, targeting almost $1.5 billion of stimulus money for such "green" job training and development.Unfortunately, this long-term promise is bumping up against short-term reality.

In a new report on the green jobs and their economic promise Workforce Strategy Center released this week, we found the unsettling fact that there are some serious roadblocks to the kind of immediate payoff we are all so eager to see.

Entire article:  Building Effective Green Energy Programs in Community Colleges
(Lane Community College Featured on pages 21-22)
Origional Link: http://www.workforcestrategy.org/images/pdfs/publications/green_energy_programs_2010-05.pdf

Beggars or Jobs for Eugene

Audio Responses to questions brought up at the City Club of Eugene public meeting.

Do we have a choice? Can we build a really sustainable community with living-wage jobs supporting our local community? Transportation costs are escalating, so having jobs that provide for the basic needs of shelter, food, clothing and health care will make our city more self-sufficient. Our questions today are: What are those jobs? Do we have the training in place? What about 10 years from now?

Sustainable Industries | Clean Energy | Energy management overload

Energy management overload

Origionally published by Sustainable Industries - http://www.sustainableindustries.com/energy/83254857.html
Selected hightlight from article.

Jobs

From most accounts, investment in energy management services is already creating new jobs. A $2 million energy efficiency construction-related project can create as many as 50 jobs, according to a white paper released by Johnson Controls. And a $10 million EPSCO might account for 95 jobs, according to NAESCO. Finally, energy efficiency programs included in climate change legislation being debated by the Senate could create as many as 20,000 jobs by 2020, according to American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

At Lane County Community College in Oregon, Roger Ebbage, director of energy and water programs, is hard at work training this new work force. The school is home to the Northwest Energy Education Institute, which has been training the front-line workers of the energy management services industry since 1980. Enrollment in this once-sleepy program tripled over the last two years to 90 and closed for the 2010-2011 academic year by December, says Ebbage.