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HUB CHICAGO

Individuals & organizations welcome. We can tackle this challenge together.

September 14

Bruce Eric Montgomery commented on Victor Gamez's group 'HUB CHICAGO'

The 8th annual Illinois Renewable Energy and Sustainable Lifestyle Fair will be held on Saturday, August 8th (from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) and Sunday, August 9th (from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) at the Ogle County Fairgrounds, in Oregon, IL. The Fairg…

August 7

Profile Information

Are you interested in becoming an organizer in your area?

Yes

Tell us about your experience with alternative energy:

I have worked on a major project to build affordable housing in Chicago.. Energy efficiency and conservation were central factors in the implementation and development of this project.

What excites you about this campaign?

The grass-roots nature of the event.

What do you want to do to help?

marketing, promotion, media strategy for multicultural market.

Victor Gamez's Blog

Let's get to work!

As a trained engineer, educator, marketing & communications professional, and community activist, I am rolling up my sleeves and beginning work on setting up a pilot program in Chicago that will bring people and resources together to begin the hard work of making this dream a reality.

All are welcome to join my group and pitch in with ideas, contacts, and resources. Let's get to work people!

I am in the process of reaching out to local government agencies, non-profits, schools, entrepreneu… Continue

Posted on August 14, 2008 at 12:29am —

Ok, what are some concrete things we can do to move this forward?

I would like to hear some suggestions of specific actions we each can take individually or collectively...I'll start:

1. Call & write to amplify the voice - write our political leaders and ask them to support the Pickens Plan.
2. Learn the issues or educate ourselves as much as our busy lives will allow.
3. Start a Green Collar Jobs program
4. Launch a Green tech business incubator
.
.
.

Posted on July 16, 2008 at 2:30pm — 3 Comments

Comment Wall (14 comments)

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At 1:04pm on August 29, 2008, Bruce Eric Montgomery said…: Hi Victor,

Thanks for joining the Pickens Plans community. We Need You!

Good News is Blowing Our Way:

* Claim: Barack Obama says his energy policies would create 5 million new "green-collar" jobs in the economy.

* Rocky Truth Patrol says:

* This is a maybe only because it's an economic estimate based on a job category that no one officially tracks - at least not yet. And depending on which economic models are used to make these estimates, Obama's forecast of 5 million green-collar jobs might actually be too low, some experts think!

Obama says his administration would invest $150 billion over 10 years in a "clean energy economy" and "help the private sector create 5 million new green jobs."

Obama takes his figures from two recent studies. The University of California at Berkeley said energy efficiency alone could create 5 million jobs nationwide in the next decade. Note that this study counts jobs created directly in this field, but also indirect jobs created by the demands of the new workers and "induced" jobs created by overall growth in the economy.

The University of Tennessee recently estimated that 5.1 million new jobs could be created by 2025 if the nation got a quarter of its energy from renewable sources. That job number also includes indirect jobs.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the nation should expect 15.6 million new jobs in the decade between 2006 and 2016. Adding 5 million "green" jobs would represent just a 3 percent boost in the total employment, which hovers at about 150 million.

The Apollo Alliance, a nonpartisan organization of business, labor, environmental and community leaders, has said they wouldn't count indirect jobs, as do the studies on which Obama relies. However, spokesman Keith Schneider said the alliance actually believes, based on analysis of these studies and others, that the 5 million figure might be too low!

"It's going to be more than that," Schneider said. "The demand for this sector of the economy way outpaces the capacity."

For example, Schneider said, wind energy - a big issue for Coloradans - is facing a capacity crunch because there is currently a three-year backlog for the plate steel needed to make the wind turbine blades. The industry needs people to make the steel, then the blades, then install them, then maintain them, he said. But federal policies - including a tax credit that has expired before and is about to expire again - have made business bumpy, he said.

"The Apollo Alliance's research on the jobs question shows us clearly that if the United States pursues a new national economic development strategy to replace fossil fuels with clean sources of energy and the tools to use them, the economy will generate 5 million new jobs, and likely much more than that," Schneider said.

At 7:49am on August 19, 2008, Bruce Eric Montgomery said…: Local leaders focus on 'green-collar' jobs

By IGNAZIO MESSINA, TOLEDO BLADE STAFF WRITER

Toledo and Lucas County officials have teamed up to create a "green-collar" job-training and placement program to assist renewable energy and energy-efficient companies, Toledo Councilman Joe McNamara and Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak announced yesterday.

"This is the type of program we need to help our work force be ready for these new jobs," Ms. Wozniak said.

She said the 16-week program would help continue the evolution of Toledo's manufacturing and factory work force, which in the past was heavily invested in the automotive industry, into green-collar jobs.

The American Solar Energy Society in November said renewable energy and energy-efficient industries were responsible for creating nearly 8.5 million jobs in 2006, and that number is expected to reach 40 million by 2030.

Toledo will not be left out, the two politicians promised.

"We are serious about growing our green businesses," Mr. McNamara said. "We want to be a livable city on the cutting edge of the green economy."

Hoping for a boom in green-collar jobs, local governments across the nation have tried different strategies to encourage environmentally oriented start-up companies and help those already operating.

The Toledo-Lucas County Green Jobs Partnership will provide green-collar job training and placement to workers in Lucas County. It will seek to serve up to 80 trainees in four training sessions in 2009.

John Witte, of Advanced Distributed Generation, a Toledo-based photovoltaic system integration company, praised the initiative as a means to educate workers.

Mr. McNamara asked that any local companies interested in joining a "Green Employer Council," which will help develop a curriculum for the program, to contact him or Ms. Wozniak.

He said the new program would begin with an eight-week training program that will involve several rotations of different work. The trainees will then be placed in an eight-week paid internship, for which the employers will be asked to pay 25 percent of the salaries.

The ultimate goal is to place the trainees in permanent jobs, he added.

Mr. McNamara said funding for the program could come from the city but he would be working to secure grants.

Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has urged Gov. Ted Strickland to establish an Ohio Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development at the University of Toledo.

In addition, Mr. Finkbeiner said the region is recognized as the United States' solar-manufacturing center and is developing wind, water, ethanol, and biodiesel clusters.

At 10:31am on August 14, 2008, Chris Havrilesko said…: Victor,
Ive worked in the Chicago suburbs for the last 11 years although our company is based in Pittsburgh.A company named Midwest lighting consultants in Griffin In. hired my firm to reduce energy in nw Indiana.Our latest project was Strack &Van Til supermarkets. If you ever shop at any,stop and look up at the new lighting we installed.Im so proud of companies that reduce enery ergo reduce emissions from fossil fuels.

On my next project there I will be needing workers its low tech with minimal training needed if you have people that can change a light bulb im sure i can hire at least a few.

thanks Chris Great Eastern Lighting

At 9:18am on August 14, 2008, Tom Zellars said…: Dear Mr. Gamez,

Welcome to my group "Green Jobs Now!" I also want to say I like what you're doing!

Good luck!
Tom Zellars

At 12:27am on August 14, 2008, Victor Gamez said…: As a trained engineer, educator, marketing & communications professional, and community activist, I am rolling up my sleeves and beginning work on setting up a pilot program in Chicago that will bring people and resources together to begin the hard work of making this dream a reality.

All are welcome to join my group and pitch in with ideas, contacts, and resources. Let's get to work people!

I am in the process of reaching out to local government agencies, non-profits, schools, entrepreneurs, and investors to build a small program to train and develop the talent and encourage investment by building a green business incubator. All are invited to help:)

Victor Gamez
Founder & President
Hub Chicago
www.hubchicago.com
victor@hubchicago.com

At 4:05pm on August 7, 2008, Bruce Eric Montgomery said…: 'Green-collar' jobs a growth area, U.S. group says

Companies are stepping up their environmental initiatives, and that may mean a boom in "green-collar" jobs.

A recent forecast by the American Solar Energy Society found that renewable energy and energy-efficient industries were responsible for the creation of nearly 8.5 million jobs in 2006, and by 2030 that number is expected to reach 40 million.

Colleges and universities are taking notice, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a job placement consulting group.

Many have introduced specialized degree programs in eco-commerce, environmental accounting, green and social marketing, and ecological economics.

"The demand for 'green-collar' jobs is really exploding, especially as the cost of energy continues to climb," said John Challenger, the group's chief executive. "Students need to start thinking about developing skills that will give them an edge for these types of careers that did not even exist until recently."

Popular jobs include urban planners, forestry professionals and environmental lawyers, Challenger said. There is also a growing demand for architects and engineers with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit.

At 10:20pm on August 4, 2008, Daryl Oster said…: Victor,
TRANSPORTATION is the master key to basic survival, and the cornerstone of the economy. We all know that transportation presently depends on oil production, and oil production is peaking. We must focus first on transportation – it is the highest priority. The PickensPlan to transition vehicles to natural gas is a great start toward 100% energy independence, but is a stop-gap measure till we can transition to all electric transportation. Electric energy is strained without adding transportation demands; so we must implement drastic efficiency improvement.
Evacuated Tube Transport (ETT) is a patented technology where travel occurs without air friction or rolling resistance (like “Space Travel on Earth”); ETT can accomplish 50 times more transportation per kWh (or carbon credit) than electric cars or trains. ETT is silent, low cost, safe, faster than jets, and is electric so it can make maximum use of wind or PV power. I invite you to visit my page to learn more about ETT

At 2:54pm on August 1, 2008, Dr. Norman LaFave said…: Hello,

Please take a look at the executive summary on my page. We are in the process of establishing a nonprofit innovation laboratory in Houston Texas dedicated to inspiring young people to pursue technology careers and to the development of the next-generation of strategic technologies to meet our current global challenges. Alternative energy is a major focus of our program.
Right now, we are in need of people willing to sponsor our efforts or to finding sponsorship for us.
We believe this can be the beginning of an effort that can spread to other areas of the country and create a critical mass of new technology ideas and innovative technologists to meet the challenges.

Any assistance you could provide would be appreciated.

Best Regards,

Norman

At 7:13pm on July 23, 2008, Andrew Lewis said…: Hello! My name is Andrew Lewis. I'm an official Online Organizing Director for Picken's Plan notifying you of a call to action.

We are gearing up house parties in communities all over the United States to spread the word about Picken's Plan and get communities plugged in to real renewable energy reform.

Since your the creator of this group I was curious if you may know some people making plays in your group who would be interested in hosting a house party. The more house parties the better!

Thank you!

Andrew