ENVIRONMENT
The fire was a wake-up call , and one that informs Hill Drum ’ s day-to-day work as the CEO of Tahoe Prosperity Center , a nonprofit community and economic development organization . Among her duties , she is part of a collaborative to develop a stable workforce for forestry jobs , which California ’ s record-breaking wildfires show to be an urgent need , especially for residents throughout the Sierra Nevada where climate change is making forests hotter and drier .
This regional collaborative ’ s efforts fit into a much bigger goal — a global goal — to employ people in jobs that help society deal with the effects of climate change , including megafires , prolonged droughts , extreme heat waves , sea-level rise and flooding , through mitigation and adaptation .
Two major scientific reports released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February and April show the urgent requirement to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions with no time to spare .
Mitigation aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent more global warming by measures such as transitioning away from fossil fuels to renewable energy , stopping deforestation , implementing soil practices to sequester carbon and pursuing advanced technologies . Adaptation requires altering behaviors , infrastructure and systems so people and animals can still have good lives in compromised scenarios . But there is also concern over maladaptation , as in actions with unintended consequences that will make some people more vulnerable to climate change , create less equitable outcomes , cause more emissions or end up harming ecosystems .
Efforts are underway throughout the Capital Region to develop a green workforce that can help on both the mitigation and adaptation fronts at the local level .
Leaving dirty energy behind
The IPCC reports are bleak . Global warming is already killing people , and more people are going to die each year from extreme weather , air pollution , heat waves , diseases and hunger . Already at least 3.3 billion people are “ highly vulnerable ” to climate change , the authors of the first report say . During the news conference for the release of the IPCC report in February ,
“ What better thing can be motivating for a young person than , say , plant trees or reduce greenhouse gas effects or develop parks or spend a summer building trails in Yosemite National Park ? That ’ s the appeal and that ’ s the message : Do something good for yourself , build skills and experiences , but at the same time , do it while you ’ re doing something good for the environment .”
BRUCE SAITO Director , California Conservation Corps
Antonio Guterres , the UN secretary-general , said fossil fuels are a “ dead end .” Decarbonization is the future .
A January 2022 report from the Deloitte Economics Institute shows that the U . S . economy could gain $ 3 trillion by decarbonizing over the next 50 years and add 1 million more jobs . Inaction , on the other hand , could cost the economy $ 14.5 trillion by 2070 . Jonathan Foley , a renowned climate and environmental scientist , tweeted in response to the Deloitte report : “ Stopping climate change ? A bargain . In fact , it ’ s the best business opportunity in human history .”
This decade , clean energy jobs in the U . S . are expected to grow the most among climate careers , according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , which projects a 68 percent increase in wind turbine service technicians and a 52 percent jump for solar photovoltaic installers by 2030 .
California ’ s environmental mandates are also propelling this energy workforce . The state has targeted 100 percent clean energy by 2045 . And in 2018 , the state mandated that new single-family homes and multifamily units up to three stories high and new commercial buildings include solar panels . California needs an estimated 180,000 new housing units each year through 2025 to meet demand .
Amanda Reynaud , executive director of the North State Building Industry Foundation , says her organization helps promote local community colleges and independent programs that train a solar workforce . “ Our focus is workforce in the residential construction industry , making sure that the industry has the talent that it needs to accomplish the work that it needs to do ,” Reynaud says .
In the Los Rios Community College District , American River College offers a certificate for solar energy systems design , estimation and sales , and Cosumnes River College has a solar installers certificate program . The nonprofit GRID Alternatives , based in Oakland , provides job training in solar energy and installs solar power systems in underserved communities . “ They don ’ t have any problem getting their graduates placed ” in jobs , Reynaud says . “( For ) companies , their solar work has been growing
62 comstocksmag . com | June 2022