Filling Tennessee’s green job openings
Posted on November 19, 2009 at 8:34 am
The Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the State Workforce Investment Board and MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center have received a $765,340 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to improve the matching of the state’s green jobs with workers.
The survey will focus on public and private interest in renewable transportation, sustainable agriculture, and Federal funding focused on the State’s burgeoning green economy. This survey will expand on prior green studies (Growing Green: the Potential for Green Job Growth in Tennessee 2008) by providing current estimates for the number of green jobs and green job vacancies within the 13 labor and workforce investment areas of Tennessee. A focus of the grant is to help workers affected by significant automotive-related restructurings connect to career pathways in green industries. Additionally, the grant will develop an enhanced online self-service labor exchange module to match green job seekers with respective employers.
All the DOL grants are here.
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Music City cited for sustainability
Posted on November 12, 2009 at 7:17 am
A new white paper published by the American Institute of Architects includes a case study of Nashville’s efforts to infuse its growth plans with green building and development thinking. The snapshot — sanitized a bit by phrases like ‘millions of dollars in building still scheduled for completion’ when talking about The Gulch — is part of a broader AIA plan to make the U.S. built environment carbon-neutral by 2030.
SEE ALSO: An update on some of the millions that have already been spent on The Gulch
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A treehugger and a union boss walk into a bar…
Posted on November 10, 2009 at 7:57 am…And come out allies in the battle to preserve America’s jobs base. So sayeth the Hoffa:
“We have been forced to make a false choice in the past—good jobs or a clean environment. The pundits said that if we wanted clean air, the economy would suffer and jobs would be sent overseas. Well, look what happened—we let the big corporations pollute and the jobs went overseas anyway. But today is a new day.”
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New green supply store to open on 12 South
Posted on October 22, 2009 at 8:11 am
Homeowners looking for sustainable choices for their home design and fixtures will soon have a new option. Local couple Rachel and Edward Martin are soon opening an eco-friendly home store in the 12 South area. Located in a former home across the street from Rumours Art Bar, (n)habit will offer green products such as paint, plaster, bamboo carpentry and water-efficient bathroom fixtures.
The store will be stocked with 70 products, all with a minimal amount of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). A grand opening event is slated for Sunday Nov. 8 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
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Terrazzo lands LEED
Posted on September 23, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Crosland’s mixed-use Gulch tower has been awarded silver LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
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Legislating green construction
Posted on September 10, 2009 at 6:58 am
Their prospects for wholesale passage aren’t great, but the various versions of climate-change legislation include ambitious targets for lowering the energy usage of residential and commercial buildings. Baker Donelson’s construction practice breaks them down and says that, “if passed, the House bill will no doubt significantly increase the usage of the LEED rating system because all new buildings will already be meeting many of its provisions anyway.”
SEE ALSO: Our recent story on the legalities of green construction going bad, something that builders and developers will have to deal with more in the future
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Giarratana asks for another hearing on smaller May Town
Posted on August 24, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Nate Rau reports that the developer working with the May family to bring a corporate headquarters magnet to Bells Bend wants to have another shot at passing muster with the Planning Commission.
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Home contractor hosts green contest
Posted on August 20, 2009 at 10:06 am
A division of local contractors Broderick Builders, Green Hills Handyman, is hosting a contest for homeowners looking to “green up” their homes. The contest calls for homeowners to submit a 500-word essay about what sustainable improvements they would do to their home with a $5,000 budget.
The winning entry will receive the sum for material and labor for their chosen project. The contest runs through October 15. For more details, see the release.
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Eyeing platinum in East Nashville
Posted on August 3, 2009 at 6:28 amDeveloper Richard Amend plans a 6,000-square-feet mixed-use project at 16th Avenue and Ordway Place, but his potential neighbors aren’t hot about the concept.
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Cat Financial building lands green honor
Posted on April 1, 2009 at 9:31 amThe West End Avenue tower is the first private commercial building in the state to earn the LEED Gold rating, the second-highest in the pantheon of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Among the highlights of the Cat Financial Center’s green features are:
* Restructured building operation and maintenance practices to be sustainable best practices consistent with the LEED process
* Reduced consumption of electricity by 6%, water by 22% and reduced solid waste by 49%
* Installed low Mercury level fluorescent lights
* Initiated a recycling and composting program
* Formed a Sustainability Committee with employee representatives from various departments to sustain progress
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Millions in stimulus dollars for local energy projects
Posted on March 30, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Middle Tennessee’s cities and counties are getting more than $10 million in block grants from the Department of Energy to invest in efficiency and transportation programs.
“These investments will save taxpayer dollars and create jobs in communities around the country,” said Vice President Biden. “Local leaders will have the flexibility in how they put these resources to work – but we will hold them accountable for making the investments quickly and wisely to spur the local economy and cut energy use.”
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Colliers’ Adams gets green distinction
Posted on at 4:55 pm
Colliers Turley Martin Tucker team member Dillard Adams Jr. has received the top rank for sustainable building professionals.
Adams, the director of construction services for the Nashville Colliers’ office, recently received the LEED Accredited Professional designation awarded by the Green Building Certification Institute. The distinction requires a strong familiarity with the green building practices championed by Institute’s LEED Rating System.
Adams will lend his sustainable building expertise to his daily tasks which include overseeing the addition and construction to Colliers’ tenant spaces.
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Spurring urban forestry
Posted on January 19, 2009 at 8:08 amNate Rau reports on a compromise bill that will require residential builders to plant a certain number of trees in their developments.
“I think it’s an unnecessary ordinance, but I think it’s the least obtrusive and it’s going to cost the city the least amount possible to enforce it,” Sheely said. “If we have to pass something, this has been the least obtrusive proposal so far.”
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