Ryan Light expected to get just 15 students this semester for his community college classes in Bettendorf on installing wind and solar power equipment. Instead, 40 signed up, and enrollment since has grown to 45.
It's not just because he has the perfect name for an instructor on power generation. It's the prospect of good-paying jobs - starting salary about $40,000 - in a down economy.
Community colleges across Iowa are trying to fill the demand for green jobs by starting training programs in wind energy and biofuels and revising their curricula in automotive repair and building. Twenty of Light's students at Scott Community College have jobs lined up, and an Illinois company is interested in 25 more.
"Our industry needs trained people," said Light, who set aside his own business installing small-scale wind generators to start the program at Scott.
Iowa Lakes Community College has 165 students enrolled in a program preparing workers for large-scale wind generation. Des Moines Area Community College has 60 students in a similar program in Ankeny.
The wind industry "is a big growth area, they pay well, and there are not a lot of programs out there," said Scott Ocken, DMACC's dean of industry and technology.
[...]
The uncertainty about where the energy field is headed isn't missed by some of the students. Light knows of two in his classes, both laid off from the local Alcoa plant, who are on the fence about getting into the renewable energy field.
"If Alcoa rehires again I think they'll be out of the program and back in the factory. It's safe."
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Green Diary Rescues appear on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The diary rescue begins below and continues in the jump. Inclusion of a particular diary does not necessarily indicate my agreement with it.
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In her Dawn Chorus Birdblog, lineatus took us to meet some hawks. If I can just make an editorial comment here and say that this is one of the most spectacular bird photos ever.
meepdog had a problem with the Interior Secretary in Salazar the Slaughter Czar: Sky Protest Over Denver: "Secretary Salazar to Relocate Broncos?
While the Denver Broncos continue their fight for a division title against the San Diego Chargers, Secretary Salazar continues his quest to cleanse the West of their namesakes, as well as many other wild animals including Wolves, and Bison. Secretary Salazar has proposed a plan to remove most of the Wild Horses from the West, despite the House having recently passed the ‘Restore Our American Mustangs Act’ (ROAM Act), which would direct the BLM to restore the wild horses to the wild and onto 20 million acres of rangeland. The same amount of BLM lands that a GAO Report admits has been taken from them. As Congressman Raul Grijalva stated regarding the ROAM Act, ’We must not lose these majestic icons of the West.’"
Several diarists found Senator James Inhofe’s comments to Senator Barbara Boxer outrageous.
MinistryOfTruth wrote: "Witness the celebration of ignorance as Pollution denying Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, member of the C Street Christian Mafia and recipient of large campaign donation from the coal, gas and oil lobbies gloats over the fact that International Climate Change Reform legislation will not go forward until 2010, largely due to the recalcitrant obstruction from the Republicans the American Senate."
Eclectablog: "The battle for the hearts and minds of Americans regarding global climate change is over. Well, according to the lead climate change denier in the Senate, James Inhofe. Pointing to what he sees as the collapse of the upcoming global summit on climate change in Copenhagen and Senate Majority Leader Reid's postponing of action on the Kerry-Boxer climate change/green energy bill, he's positively gloating that the deniers have prevailed."
There was also a flurry of diaries over the supposed scandal of climate scientists fixing the evidence to the theory, as was claimed by those who read stolen emails:
Desmogblog asked Who are the criminals behind the conspiracy theorists?: "This cabal of climate deniers seems to think that 12 year-old emails between climate scientists somehow refutes the thousands of research papers produced over decades by thousands of researchers at some of the best scientific institutions in the world."
A Siegel ridiculed the denialogues’ conclusions in ClimateGate reveals nefarious conspiracy!: "I am a father with young children sleeping soundly in their beds, safe for the moment. If we can wash away concerns over global warming, acidification of the oceans, pegging it all as some form of mass scientific secret cabal to distort the globe, that would be truly great news. I, too, could sleep soundly if that were the case, being able to believe that my children are safe not for the moment but for their lives. ... ClimateGate doesn't even come close to reaching the point of nullifying the solidity of the work of thousands of scientists."
chparadise offered A scientist's take on theory, facts, hypotheses, and the like: "What's really important to note, in the end, is that several disputed scientific theories are just that - they are scientific theories. The general public thinks that "theory" means that there's a lot of doubt on the part of the scientist. Rather, in science, a theory happens when there's little doubt. Scientists have this annoying way of still leaving a small chance that they may be wrong...in fact, they'd be shitty scientists if they didn't leave that chance...but, that iota of doubt (we're talking 0.001% chance material here) is seized upon and misunderstood to leave the impression that scientists don't have nearly the evidence that we actually do."
RLMiller wrote: "Debate on the best means to address a global crisis is healthy. Debate on whether to emphasize nuclear power, natural gas, carbon capture & sequestration, or wind is an important part of a democracy, and questions about whether to rely on bridge fuels or immediately shift to renewables deserve public discussion. However, whether sea level rise affects coastal cities should not be a question for debate any longer. Nor should cherry-picked statements found in emails be permitted to confuse the real issue, which is the impact of climate change on the human race. A plan to abandon coastal cities entirely should not be considered until prevention has utterly failed, nor should it be made in haste in the face of a crisis. Instead, we all need to start grabbing mops and cleaning up the carbon mess."
RL also reported on a possible trial balloon in US considers anteing up for Copenhagen?: "In advance of the Copenhagen climate negotiation beginning December 7, all major nations have declared their initial negotiating positions for carbon emissions cuts, except for the United States. Now the British Guardian is reporting that the Obama administration is considering setting a provisional emissions target. This has all the earmarks of a trial balloon -- and it's far more important than a manufactured email scandal."
juliewolf wrote about Parker River: "The refuge, on Plum Island in coastal Massachusetts is probably one of my very favorite places to bird. It hosts several hundred species of bird throughout the year, and its salt marshes allow for a great deal of variety. September is one of the best times to visit, and last weekend was no exception. Not only did we get a series of birds, we got one new life bird and some fairly tricky to find warblers. But one of the real highlights was a visit to the refuge banding station."
Frankenoid talked about how hard it is to do Saturday Morning Garden Blogging in the cold: "... we're now in that time of year when it's light late and dark early. These two months from late November to late January, when the sun doesn't rise until 7:00 and sets before 5:00; when Arctic Blasts keeping temperatures hovering around 0° (or lower) for day; are so very hard for a gardener."
mogmaar reported some good news in Blasting Halted on Coal River Mtn.: "Coal River Mountain is the largest mountain in this part of southern WV. Its also the only one still intact, which tells you something about the destructive tendencies of the WV coal fanatics like Don Blankenship. Coal River Mtn is the last mountain standing, not to mention the proposed site of Coal River Wind Project - a local green jobs initiative to provide more electricity and more jobs to the area for a longer time than coal. Blasting started in mid-October and stopped today. No, it didn't stop because of EPA action, despite widespread protests and the lack of the proper permits. It stopped because activists took direct action and locked down to a drill rig."
intrados offered a fiscal answr on Energy Conservation Income Tax Policy: "The first step in the plan is to take away the income tax entirely for 99% of the population. Currently the cut-off for membership in the top 1% of income earners is approximately $400,000 per year. The average income for that group of privileged 1,683,000 households is one million dollars per year. Currently, they are taxed at 38% of adjusted gross income and I propose that we actually reduce that rate to 30%. How can they argue with that? This will net $510 billion in revenue or about half of what is required to equal the total individual tax revenue amount. The second step is to implement a tax on excess household energy consumption. The first 80 million btu per year that a household consumes are free of taxation. Currently 28% of households get by on that amount of usage or less. They tend also to be households of lower income. The implementation of a small $0.20 per 1000 btu tax on the usage above 80 million per household will net $330 billion in revenue."
Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse wrote a climate change round-up, Obama Needs To Knock Down Climate Change Wackadoodles: "Limbaugh announced the GOP game plan: Make sure Obama's policies fail by any means necessary, such as lying to confuse and mislead the public into believing that global warming is a myth. Take every opportunity to question climate change science. After all, if the science does not prove the existence and gravity of climate change, then legislation is not needed. And, if the public does not support climate change legislation, then lawmakers may run from the bill either literally or figuratively with provisions that will dilute the success of substantive measures."
WingNutCracker reported the contradictions in the case of a U.S. Refinery to Close, 550 Jobs Lost-Paging Dr. Inhofe: "Valero Energy Company has just announced the closing of its Delaware City, DE refinery which will cost 550 people their jobs. This is the second Philadelphia area refinery to close this year; and will no doubt be cited as a reason for any upcoming gasoline price spikes. This points out that the best thing the Administration can do is aggressively push for meaningful climate change regulations (EPA has great authority to act under existing law) if not legislation to create new jobs, and to reign in commodities speculators, a/k/a Goldman Sachs, whose self serving analysis enabled it to lead the market manipulations driving us to $ 4 gas."
calchala reported that a Coal Group wants to block HCR to Kill Climate Change: "Typical of the Chamber of Commerce. This is coming from the West Virginia Edition. Apparently they want Sens. Byrd and Rockefeller to not vote for Healthcare Reform until the EPA allows Mountaintop removal and stops trying to progress Climate Change."
In DocMartin’s view, As Usual, It's about oil: "Here’s a peek into a bit of geopolitical news that is not making much noise in the US press – Azerbaijan and Armenia are meeting in Munich to discuss settlement of their territorial dispute in Nagorno-Kharabagh, a piece of mountainous desolation occupied after a war by Armenia who interceded when the mostly Armenian population of N-K sought to secede from Azerbaijan a couple of decades ago. (Think Kosovo.) Who cares, you say? Outside of the Armenians and Azeris, that is? Well, you should."
Patric Juillet The Many Indigestible Truths from Food Advertisers: "Chocolate-coated blueberries rich in ‘heavenly antioxidants,’ walnuts fermented to remove ‘antinutrients’ and even de-ionised water so you can "ditch the Viagra’ and get ‘excited naturally.’ These are among the more extravagant claims made on behalf of a huge range of foods and drinks. Take Dannon for example, the maker of Activia and DanActive which is is advertised as having ‘been clinically proven to help naturally strengthen the body’s defenses’ and ‘improve the body’s immune system.’ Activia is stated to ‘help naturally regulate the digestive system.’ Dannon has had great sales success with the two products, and sales rose thousandfold after they were advertised to have the false health benefits."
wide eyed lib was out rooting around, Foraging Beneath the Snow: "I’ve been talking for the last few weeks about how there's nothing to forage, but what I really mean is that there's nothing new to forage. (Photo by Peter Coughlin) The foraging season really doesn't end until 2 things happen: the first frost (which kills all but the hardiest leaves) and the first hard frost, which makes digging increasingly difficult. (Even then, it's still possible to dig if you build a fire on the spot in order to soften the ground first.)"
In her Dawn Chorus Birdblog, lineatus took us to meet some hawks. If I can just make an editorial comment here and say that this is one of the most spectacular bird photos ever.
juliewolf wrote about 
mogmaar reported some good news in 
wide eyed lib was out rooting around, 
