Work Au Naturale

BY COLE CHENEY

"If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

Though career path aspirations of slam-dunk specialist and video game guru may fall by the wayside, planet-saving is still a viable, and heroic, option. Individuals recognizing the strife inflicted upon the environment and ready to take action are discovering more and more "green jobs" that offer solid salaries, incredible experience and unmatchable gratification.

Hobbies or interests seeping into careers may not only interest the employee, but also benefits the environment in the case of eco-jobs. As "green" job availability becomes increasingly prevalent, so follows its ability to influence a positive environmental change. Don't don the rubber boots and canteen yet; "green" careers range from foresting, to marketing to art.

"'Green jobs' make people think of the DNR, conservatories and isolated reserves," said Laurel Norian, Operations Manager for The Nature Conservancy, a United States charitable organization. While The Nature Conservancy's endeavor is clear with its slogan, "Protecting Nature[.] Preserving Life," Norian asserts that many eco-friendly vocations are more subtle, yet equally beneficial to the environment.

"There are architects designing green buildings, marketers selling "green" ideals and even factory workers creating 'green' machinery," Norian said.

"Even companies that have no relation whatsoever to environmental issues are starting to staff personnel or consultants to ensure that their business practices encourage sustainability."

As trends in "green" continually gain popularity (General Electric, British Petroleum and Ford each ran environmentally focused Olympic ads this year), employees now know more about "green" jobs than ever, according to John Esson, president of Greenjobs.com. Through his and similar websites, employees and employers with similar environmental inclinations come together.

"There is so much going on right now in the "green" job sector that is really exciting," Esson said.

"Last year's 'Green for All' and 'Apollo Alliance' were founded to spread awareness of 'green collar' jobs. There was the bill that went through congress called the Green Jobs Act, which promotes jobs in green businesses. Basically, if you have interest in an environmentally friendly or protective field, now is a great time even if you don't have a science degree."

Having graduated with a Biology degree geared toward the environment, Esson now recommends that students eager to help the environment will be most effective with business and marketing degrees. People with established careers that have long since left the classroom, yet are eager to help the environment, can either opt for one of the increasingly prevalent "green M.B.A.s" or simply use their skills to further environmental causes.

"Typical 'green' jobs are important, but now the place where people can help the most is from the inside of businesses," said Esson.

"Taking a company and turning it 'green' is a lot more efficient and eco-friendly than starting up a whole another 'greener' company."

Not only does the "greening" effect improve a companies image, but may also save an enterprise's money in the long run through energy savings, government incentives and decreased resource costs, according to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

Above capital and appearance, however, many companies and workers turn "green" simply for personal ethics.

"Perhaps [green workers] want to help protect the threatened environment," said David Brierley, publisher of Ecoemploy, a website and service that facilitates the hiring of green employees.

"That may be the benefit of being in the sector, as opposed to other areas."

On a less heroic level, sometimes the environment is flat-out fun.

"Paying the bills isn't so bad when I'm buying ATVs, chainsaws and prescribed fires," said Norian.

"At the end of the day, after a hectic week, I go on a field trip and see the piece of property I helped protect. That really makes it hard to complain, even if I've had too many e-mails and a few nasty phone calls."