A Future in Solar Jobs

A recent New York Times article discusses how, in the midst of a recession, the solar energy sector seems to be on the upswing.

The Solar Energy Industries Association, based in Washington, D.C., says there was a 45 percent increase in installed energy systems between 2006 and 2007. More than 3,400 companies are in the solar energy sector, employing about 25,000 to 35,000 workers. The jobs include manufacturers, distributors, installers, suppliers and project developers.

Solar workers install solar panels that convert the sun's rays into electricity that helps run things like a building's appliances and lights. The surplus electricity can be stored in batteries for later use. When the batteries are full, the surplus electricity can then be exported back to the electrical grid to offset costs from the utility company. Solar workers also install thermal collectors, which convert the sun's rays into heat, which is used to heat and cool different parts of a building.

The Times quoted a spokeswoman for the organization, who said that they estimate the sector will grow to more than 110,000 direct solar jobs by 2016.

In a time when many people are losing their office jobs, it will be interesting to see if the rise of green jobs would ever have more people working over the roof than under it.

Public-Private Partnerships in Environmental Philanthropy

Yesterday I attended a program hosted at the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers on the topic of how environmental philanthropy can benefit from public-private partnerships. Key speakers included Rohit T. Aggarwala, Director of New York City's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, Michael Northrop, Director of the Sustainable Development grantmaking program at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Sam Marks, manager of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation's community development grants budget.

An interesting point that everyone in the room seemed to agree upon is the need for partnerships between local, state decision-makers and those at the federal level. The program speakers stressed that the idea of partnership is key because it is practical and effective. Some of the organizations working on this is the Georgetown Climate Center, Center for Climate Strategies, Climate Communities and ICLEI. There are a lot that mayors and governors can do to promote environmental policies, and it would be most helpful if their work could influence Washington, D.C.

Some of the key New York City efforts to address climate change include the University Challenge, the greening of Broadway, and the million trees project. Mr. Aggarwala also mentioned that the city is looking into greening hospitals and black cars, establishing a green codes task force and a lighting program that would provide an energy efficiency training and support system for light workers.

There are a lot of ways that local decision-makers can make their cities and states more environmentally conscious. I think that federal leaders will need to increasingly turn their gaze downwards to see how these local initiatives can take a step towards national policies.

The great part about programs like this is that it draws in people from different sides of the equation to learn from one another and to engage in a productive dialogue.

2008: A Dangerous Year for Online Journalists

As 2008 draws to a close, Committee to Protect Journalists reflected on the rising influence of online reporting and commentary. This year, more Internet journalists are jailed worldwide today, than journalists working in any other medium. CPJ found that 45% of all media workers jailed worldwide are bloggers, web-based reporters, or online editors. These online journalists represent the largest professional category for the first time in CPJ’s prison census.

CPJ's 2008 census found 125 journalists in all behind bars on December 1. This represents a decrease of two from the 2007 tally. (Read detailed accounts of each imprisoned journalist.) Perhaps not surprisingly, China continued to be world's worst jailer of journalists, for the 10th straight year.

Of the 125 journalists behind bars, at least 56 of them are considered “online” journalists. Nowhere is the ascendance of Internet journalism more evident than in China, where 24 of 28 jailed journalists worked online. "Online journalism has changed the media landscape and the way we communicate with each other," said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. "But the power and influence of this new generation of online journalists has captured the attention of repressive governments around the world, and they have accelerated their counterattack." By way of comparison to the amount of online journalists behind bars, print reporters, editors, and photographers make up the next largest professional category, with 53 cases.

It’s hardly surprising that in our increasingly technological world, that journalists are targeted for their reporting. What is surprising however, is the rate at which it’s happening. Hopefully continued efforts by organizations such as CPJ will lead to more awareness about the problem, and solutions to help curb attacks against journalists. Because journalist should be imprisoned for just doing their job.

Network Neutrality Ebbing?

According to this article in today’s Wall Street Journal “the celebrated openness of the Internet – network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic – is quietly losing powerful defenders”. Really? But millions of Americans have taken a stand in support of Network Neutrality, and Barack Obama has even pledged to “take a back seat to no one” in his commitment to Net Neutrality. Check out what Obama had to say in his own words about Net Neutrality here. Even major senate democratic political figures have announced their support for network neutrality.

So what gives with the Wall Street Journal article? Tim Karr, of Free Press’ Save The Internet Campaign was quick to respond via a posting and call to action called Net Neutrality in the Front Seat. He says essentially, that the article paints support for Net Neutrality as ebbing, by confusing a Google plan to utilize “edge caching” technology as a fundamental violation of Net Neutrality by one of its biggest corporate supporters. But ultimately, network neutrality is a “public mandate” and that we are actually much closer now than ever before to securing network neutrality. He also points out that there has been no evidence of Obama “softening” his position on network neutrality. Whew!

Environmental Health Update

So you know how we've all been told that pregnant women and children should limit their consumption of fish toward the top of the food chain, like swordfish and tuna, due to high mercury levels?

Well, you may soon forget it.

This past week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will urge the government to amend its advisory that women and children should limit how much fish they eat. According to the FDA, the benefits of eating seafood outweigh the health risks and most people should eat more fish, even if it contains mercury.

Mercury is known to damage the neurological development of fetuses and infants. Recent studies suggest that mercury may also pose risks to adults, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The report argues, however, that nutrients in fish could boost a child's IQ by three points and that the greatest benefits would come from eating more than 12 ounces of fish per week, which is the current limit advised for vulnerable populations.
If approved by the White House, the government would take away its policy that certain population groups can be harmed by the mercury in fish and should limit their consumption.

According to an article in the Washington Post, scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency are criticizing the new recommendations. The Environmental Working Group is also working to fight against the FDA's announcement.

Before everyone makes the switch to a diet based entirely on sushi, I'd seriously reconsider the FDA's findings. I mean, doesn't it seem odd to take such a huge step backwards?

The GiveList

Feeling a little blue this holiday season when looking at all the people on your gift list? There’s no denying that times are tight given the economy. But that doesn’t mean you should have to give up on the holiday spirit! Well enter The GiveList, the new brain-child of Allison Fine and Marnie Webb, which will give you lots of ideas and inspiration for ways to contribute this holiday season without have to spend money or buy anything (or at least a little bit less than usual).

Here are 71 ways to give without opening your wallet. You can even vote for your favorite ideas. There are some really great and creative ideas out there. It’s good to see that there are small things you can do that don’t cost money but can still have a big impact on people’s lives. The New York Times blogged about the GiveList yesterday here and it clearly resonated with many readers as they left their insightful comments.

So what’s your idea to give this holiday season without opening your wallet? Share your ideas on del.icio.us, via twitter, or even in your own blog post. Just make sure to tag it GiveList and you can share your idea with the world.

Breakthrough

Planning on going to the movies during the Holiday Season? Make sure to check out Breakthrough’s animation, “Don’t Deport Me, Scotty”. Until January 1, 2009, the animation will be screened before every film playing at the Angelika Theatre in NYC and the Laemmle Theatres in California.

In this two and a half minute animation, which has already been viewed by thousands on YouTube, a permanent member of a popular space crew finds his status is in question…In any galaxy, when we deny due process and human rights to some, we put all of our freedoms at risk!

Breakthrough is also holding a special Human Rights Day Screening of "The Visitor" . They partnered with Sojourners, Participant Media and Active Voice, for a screening tonight of the runaway hit, "The Visitor." In the film, an American college professor and a young immigrant couple grapple with treatment of immigrants and the legal process post-9/11. After the screening, you can stay for a panel discussion with reps from the ACLU, Human Rights First and NYU Bellevue Center for Survivors of Torture. Following the panel, there will be a reception at the same location (the screening, panel discussion and the reception will all be held at The International Hotel located at 500 Riverside Drive at 122nd Street). There is a $20 fee for the reception only – the film screening and panel are free. If you want to attend you can RSVP to sojourners@theriversidechurchny.org.

WITNESS Human Rights

In honor of tomorrow’s 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights, WITNESS put together a short video with different WITNESS staff talking about what images opened their eyes to human rights abuses around the world. The video talks about images from its archive that have made them acutely aware of a specific human rights issue. It’s a real conversation starter video that poses the question to the viewer as well "What image opened your eyes to human rights?" WITNESS will host the conversation on their Hub but they will seed it all over the Internet as well on places like their YouTube channel, Facebook, blog aggregators like Global Voices Online, and Change.org.

But what’s the best thing about WITNESS new video? It allows you to be part of the conversation of course! If you are a member and want to make your own video, you can upload it to their site by clicking here. Make sure to tag your video “UDHR60”. If you aren’t a member, you can join. If you can’t respond with a video, you can comment on any of the videos here. Based on the comments that people have already left, you can see that people are answering that in many different ways. Some are describing photographs or news footage, others are describing images that newspaper articles conjured up for them. Also, if you have an account on YouTube, you can upload your video as a response to their video. By uploading a video response, all of the UDHR 60 videos will be viewable in the same place and help attract more people to the conversation.

So what are you waiting for, answer the question, what image opened your eyes to human rights?

Hard Economic Times Making it Harder to Recycle

The economic downturn is affecting many parts of our lives, including our ability to recycle. According to a New York Times article today, the market for recycled materials like cardboard, plastic, newspaper and metals has just about crashed. Material that would normally be turned into products like car parts, book covers and boxes for electronics is now ending up in junk yards due to a lack of buyers.

According to Official Board Markets, the West Coast, mixed paper is selling for $20 to $25 a ton, down from $105 in October. Additionally, recyclers in the article say that tin is worth about $5 a ton, down from $327 earlier this year.

Brian Sternberg, education and outreach coordinator for Sedona Recycles, is quoted in the article. He says that his organization has recently stopped taking certain types of cardboard, like cereal, rice and pasta boxes. With no market, and the organization's yard already packed fence to fence, there is no choice but to let these materials go to the landfill.

In New York City, the city is getting paid $10 a ton for paper, down from $50 or more before October. So far it has no plans to cease recycling. In Boston, prices are down to $5 a ton, and the city expects it will soon have to pay to unload its papers. The article says that city officials believe it would still be better to recycle than to pay $80 a ton to put it into a landfill.

The recycling slump has provoked people to question the motives behind recycling--no longer profitable, can a sense of civic duty keep it going? Jim Wilcox, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, summed this up perfectly in the article: "Before, you could be green by being greedy...Now you've really got to rely more on your notions of civic participation."

Illustrating the notion of civic duty, second graders at Ruthlawn Elementary School in South Charleston, West Virginia who are involved in recycling were alerted that the program may be discontinued. Instead of playing during recess, the children spent time writing letters to the governor and mayor and asking them to keep recycling. As a result, the city plans to start trucking the recyclables to Kentucky.

While the emissions created by transporting recyclables may lessen the impact of recycling, the dedication to recycling proves a point that should be noted. We've come so far when it comes to recycling, it would be a shame for us to let it slide now!

Green Gift Ideas

With the holidays upon us, stores and malls are filled with people trying to find the perfect gift. Thank goodness for online gift guides. And even more exciting are guides to green gifts--so we can find presents that benefit both the receiver and the environment!

TreeHugger's 2008 Gift Guide is great, with more than 100 green gift ideas in 12 different categories. You can find gifts for the foodie, fashion buff, pop culture fan, green geek, wee-hugger, animal lover, philanthropist, health nut, do-it-yourselfer, outdoors enthusiast and jet setter. The guide this year offers ideas for gifts that are both affordable and low-impact.

As an outdoors enthusiast, I checked out the list and found great gift ideas (hint-hint)!. Some highlights include a kinetic-powered headlamp, down sleeping bags made with recycled polyester shells, a workshop class to build your own sustainable surfboard, and a daypack made from recycled materials.

The New York Times has an article today on environmentally friendly gadget gifts. Suggestions include energy efficient TVs, smart power strips, an "ecobutton" that switches the computer to energy-saving mode and kinetic-powered gadgets.

Happy shopping!

Ethical Leaders of 2008

Ethical Corporation magazine named its 10 Ethical Leaders of 2008 yesterday. Those honored include Barack Obama, Bill Gates and John Ruggie, UN special representative for business and human rights.

Another individual given the top honors is Chris Wille, director of sustainable agriculture for the Rainforest Alliance. Wille has been with the Rainforest Alliance since 1987, and was chosen for his work to bring ethical food and drink into the mainstream market. Under Wille's leadership, over 34,000 farms in 22 countries have adopted sustainable practices and have become Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Farmers in the program use practices that protect the environment and the welfare of the workers. Wille has helped sustainable farms supply such large companies as Chiquita, Unilever, Kraft and McDonald's. As the global tea market leader, Unilever worked with the Rainforest Alliance this past year to certify its tea plantations in Kenya.

In a press release, Wille says: "It's a huge honor to be recognized by Ethical Corporation magazine and included among such prominent figures."

"The entire Rainforest Alliance staff deserves this recognition of our achievements in sustainability. Without a cohesive effort from farm to market, our steady transformation of land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior would not have been possible."

After working for over 20 years in conservation in Central America and finally seeing a trend towards marketable sustainability practices, Wille's next challenge is to find a way to reward farmers for the environmental services they provide, such as sequestering carbon and conserving watersheds. Congratulations Chris!

The 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights

Next Wednesday, December 10th, marks the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. For many of today’s Americans, “the right to life, liberty and security of person,” or “the right to freedom of peaceful assembly” may seem obvious, expected, and even inherent. However, these two rights, along with 28 other rights, were not codified and made a part of international law until the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated sixty years ago.

As it happens, few individuals know the full timeline of events that assembled these seemingly natural truths into the realities that they are now. Even more disturbing, many still suffer from basic inequalities that the UDHR condemns. Next Wednesday's marking of the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights is a momentous occasion that not only humbles and reminds us all of this document’s “promise to humanity,” but also salutes those that fought against injustice and those that continue to “recognize, promote, and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms” both here in the United States and around the world.

This upcoming anniversary is very much on the radar of several of the Foundation’s grantees. The following is an events calendar leading up to and coinciding with the anniversary to show the many ways our grantees are planning to get involved during this 60th anniversary. A special thanks to Sarah Kelly, Overbrook's fall intern for gathering this list for us.

Advocates for Youth
20TH Anniversary Conference: Rights, Respect, Responsibility: A New Paradigm for Healthy Adolescent Sexuality
December 2 through 4, 2001
Wyndham Washington Hotel in Washington, DC
For More Information about the Conference or a Registration Brochure Visit
http://www.rightsrespectresponsibility.org/ or http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/ or E-mail Advocates for Youth at conf@advocatesforyouth.org

Amnesty International
1. UDHR Celebration
Monday, Nov 24 at 6:30pm
The New York Society for Ethical Culture at 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY
Please RSVP to Jack Phillips at (212) 633 4174 or JPhillips@aiusa.org before Nov 19th
2. Amnesty International's Small Places Tour Global Music and Human Rights Project
Visit http://www.smallplacestour.info/site/

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center
1. Blog about the UDHR at www.gaycenter.org/advocacy
2. NYCHRI's UDHR 60 Campaign and NYCHRI Human Rights Breakfast
December 10th
3. Public Policy Community Education Forum
December 2, 2008 6-9 PM at the Center, entitled, A New Administration: Moving a Progressive LGBT Agenda Forward
4. Chew On This! December will take place at the Center on Human Rights Day and will focus on Making Another World Possible: LGBT People and Neoliberalism. *Note this event is open only to Center staff and interns
5. Human Rights 101 training at the Center's youth program, Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.'s) upcoming "Breaking Walls, Building Bridges: Gender & Justice" conference
Saturday, December 6 from 10AM - 6PM at the Center
Visit www.gaycenter.org/YES


Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program
Advocacy Campaign to raise awareness of U.S. obligations and shortcomings under the UDHR and human rights law
Create a short video about UDHR and win a trip to NYC: The Prize: One (1) winner will receive roundtrip airfare and lodging in New York City** to attend the December 10th, 2008 session of the United Nations General Assembly to participate in celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! In addition, the winner's winning entry will be entered onto a feed on the ACLU's YouTube page and the UDHR 60 website!
For more information and details about the contest visit http://www.udhr60.org/udhr_vid.html

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
Participation in the 16 Days of Activism
November 25-December 10, 2008
The 16 Days of Activism is an international campaign spearheaded by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership and designed to draw attention to the fact that violence against women is a human rights violation
Information is available at http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html

The Opportunity Agenda
The Opportunity Agenda is engaged in a media campaign around the 60th Anniversary and Human Rights Day although is not date-specific. They will report back on the success of their campaign shortly after December 10th.

Urban Justice Center
Urban Justice Center along with The New York City Human Rights Initiative invites you to “At Breakfast with Human Rights”. Please join them in celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the end of the 60-day Human Rights Campaign.
December 10th, 2008, 9:00-10:30am at the Puck Building – 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor. Please RSVP at tbejar@urbanjustice

Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program
Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Program
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Suite 336
Washington, DC 20001
Urban Justice Center fellows will be attending two hearings at the U.S. Supreme Court: AT&T Corp v. Hulteen (involving the Pregnancy Discrimination Act under Title VII and gender-based employment discrimination) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal (involving discrimination suits against high-level officials)

World Aids Day

Coinciding with the international marking of World Aids Day, Funders Concerned About AIDS recently eleased a new report titled “US Philanthropic Support To Address HIV/AIDS in 2007”. The report can be read in its entirety here. This year for the first time ever, this yearly report was released in concert with the European HIV/AIDS Funders Group.

Here are a few key highlights from the report:

- In 2007 disbursements from U.S.-based philanthropies increased 10% over 2006. The majority of the 2007 disbursements (80%, or $446 million) were devoted to the international epidemic.

- An increased share of U.S.-based funders provided funding exclusively to address the domestic epidemic in 2007 (45% compared to 35% in 2006). As in previous years, the Northeast Region of the U.S. received a considerable share of all U.S. domestic funding (44%)

- New for 2007, organizations were asked to identify the top population groups that receive the greatest benefit from their domestic and international funding. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) were identified most frequently as chief beneficiaries of both domestic and international philanthropy by both U.S.-and Europe-based funders. And For U.S.-based funders, those with an international focus also identified the following groups, in rank order, as chief beneficiaries of their funding: women, youth, and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC). For domestic funding, other groups identified were African-Americans, women, youth, Latinos, and gay men and men who have sex with men.

This report speaks to the increased philanthropic efforts in the U.S in the issues of HIV/AIDS. Let’s hope that support continues in the years to come.