The GREEN DMV Report
January 2011
Climate Change Mitigation Or Adaptation?
Contributing Writer: Majora Carter

The opening decade of the 21st century saw a lot of changes in our attitudes towards everything from energy to environment to politics and the economy.  The term “green jobs” was not widely known when I founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001; but it is now ensconced in federal policy, the media, and on the minds of many Americans who are desperate for ‘jobs’ of any kind right now and in the past.  That’s a victory we can all be very proud of!

We’ve heard a lot about potential new jobs in alternative energy sources like solar and wind power, as well as “weatherization” efforts to insulate homes, reducing energy consumption.  These are the Green Jobs of Climate Change Mitigation in that they aim to reduce green-house-gas emissions in order to curb the effects of CO2 in the atmosphere and reduce further climate change for future generations. 

A number of well-intentioned policy advocates have proposed that the people who need gainful employment most (America’s poor and often minority), will benefit from governmental support of these kinds of green jobs.  Training dollars have flowed from government and foundations alike, but job placement seems to be lagging.

Many of these jobs are being taken up by the same skilled workers who are currently not employed by the flagging construction industry.  These workers require minimal training, are already connected to the trades through unions or past experience, and are thus a logical choice for any business hoping to profit form this economic growth sector.

When I surveyed the employment landscape a decade ago, and formed a green jobs strategy that would be most likely to benefit people in the South Bronx and areas like across our country, it was with no small amount of cynicism in my otherwise hopeful heart, and boiled down to two main points: 

1) Climate Change Mitigation efforts would be directly opposed by the very powerful fossil fuel energy industry; whereas Adaptation would be more welcomed by cash-strapped local/state governments that would have to pay more and more for business as usual going forward

2) The disadvantaged people whom I wanted to see prosper would require employment opportunities that were realistically achievable given their educational attainment and personal/employment history (which often includes jail time); and provide potential for long term career growth.

So what does a Climate-Adaptation look like?  As Climate Change takes hold, more and more systems will be stressed.  Storm water management is a good example, but not as photogenic as a wind turbine or a shiny solar panel so you don’t usually hear about it in the mainstream media.  Every time it rains more than 1/10th of an inch in most American cities, the run-off flows into the same system designed primarily to treat raw sewage.  It’s just clean rain water as it falls, but it does pick up oils and other chemicals when it hits the streets, parking lots, and roof tops.  It’s expensive to treat, and storm activity seems to be exacerbated by climate change in most of North America so far.

According to a 2007 EPA report, the most cost effective way to handle this run-off water is to get it into the ground as it falls, or delay its progress so that treatment facilities are not overwhelmed.  This accomplished through a number of means ranging from greenroofs, to intensive urban forestry, creative parking lot designs, and includes parks and unpaved open space too!  This is Horticultural Infrastructure and its important because it’s cost-effective, needed, and will grow and adapt to changing conditions with the skilled help of people getting into this field today.   Wetland and shoreline restoration is another weak spot in our climate adaptive profile that can be addressed through strategic Horticultural investments too. 

These practices can also reduce Urban Heat Island Effect (higher temperatures found in paved areas with many buildings ans their air conditioners as opposed cooler temperates in surrounding areas), another effect of climate change that brings both rising public health and energy consumption costs with it.

All of this work can and should be performed where possible by the our nation’s most expensive citizens: the generationally impoverished, people returning to society from both prison or Middle East wars, and some who can count all three on their resumé.   I say this because there is excellent evidence to support the claim that working with plants and soil is a very cost effective way to address the emotional problems associated with our most expensive citizens - which otherwise often lead to other burdens on the social service sector in the form of drug/alcohol/domestic abuse, poor performance by their children in school, and stress related health problems.

Moreover, these are largely new jobs that will not be walk-overs from the construction industry.  These jobs will provide growth potential for people who can start gaining experience with the intricacies of plant/human relationship now, that will progress over decades of what I hope to be happy, healthy, productive lives for everyone.

I left the non-profit I founded in order to export this knowledge base to the world, and l look forward to helping your community’s efforts in job training & placement systems for climate adaptation strategies everywhere. 

Majora Carter is a visionary voice in city planning who views urban renewal through an environmental lens. While the term “green-collar jobs” gains more press and pundits daily, very few people have actually marshaled the resources to get unemployed Americans trained and placed on pathways out of poverty in this growing economic sector. Majora Carter has. Born, raised, and continuing to live in the South Bronx, her work takes her around the world in pursuit of resources and ideas to improve the quality of life in environmentally challenged communities.

She founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 and by 2003 had implemented the highly successful Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training (BEST) program— a pioneering green-collar job training and placement system — seeding communities with a skilled workforce that has both a personal & economic stake in their urban environment. She is currently president of the green-collar economic consulting firm the Majora Carter Group, LLC.

Her work has earned numerous honors including Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People In Business, a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship, Essence Magazine’s 25 Most Influential African-Americans, and NY Post Liberty Medal for Lifetime Achievment. She is a board member of the Wilderness Society and CERES; and hosts the special public radio series: “The Promised Land” (thepromisedland.org).  Her work now includes advising cities, foundations, universities, businesses, and communities around the world on unlocking their local economic potential to benefit everyone as President of the Majora Carter Group, LLC