Today, I was listening to the Seattle City Council pass legislation that accepts over $6 million in stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy for a multitude of energy upgrades. Among the many things it funds is a new position in Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment. It will be a “strategic advisor I” post and the person will be hired to handle reporting and requirements of the stimulus grant. The position is funded for two years. The job will likely be posted on the city’s job page here. Other than that, I don’t know any more about the position.

The AIA Seattle’s Forum magazine is seeking submission proposals for an upcoming issue on design for healthy living. Proposals for features run up to 2,500 words and columns run between 600 and 700 words. Proposals must address some aspect of design for healthy living in the Seattle metro area, Puget Sound or Washington state.

For more info on Forum or the submission process, visit http://www.aiaseattle.org/forum . Proposals are due by August 21.

Want a job? How about becoming chief operating officer for the largest regional green building nonprofit? Well, then this is your lucky month because the Cascadia Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council is hiring.

Cascadia is waiting for you! (image courtesy of Cascadia).

That’s right. They’re looking for a new COO as current COO Brandon Smith is moving to the position of vice president of business development.

The new COO will be based in either Portland or Seattle and will be in the post by August 1st. The deadline to apply for the job is June 30.

Cascadia is also searching for a new administrative assistant. This is a part time position of 20 hours per week. It will remain open until filled with a tentative start date of July 20.

For more information or to apply, visit Cascadia here.

The University of Washington has developed a new certification centered on low impact

Do you know what this is? Ever worked one? Maybe you should become a teacher!

development. There’s only one problem: it doesn’t have teachers yet.

The program, which will begin this fall, will consist of three 30-hour courses. Students will take ‘Foundations of Low Impact Development’ in the fall, ‘Practical Applications of LID,’ in the winter of 2010 and ‘Implementing LID projects,’ in the spring.

The UW is seeking applications from professionals in the LID field to teach these courses. It wants instructors who have been working in the field for over five years. Is this you? Apply to mamrhein@extn.washington.edu by April 24. If you’re looking for more information, click here.

McKinstry is expanding. It is developing a new 120,000-square-foot building next to its manufacturing space. In addition to the 500 jobs it will be creating within the next couple years, Dean Allen, McKinstry CEO, said he hopes to create thousands of jobs across both in Seattle and across the country. For more on this story, read my DJC article here.

Gov. Gregoire’s climate and job package runs the gamut. It includes proposed investments totaling $455 million in the next biennium for energy-reducing transportation projects, energy efficiency projects, green buildings and clean-energy technology. Her press release says the investments would support about 2,900 jobs in 2010 and 2011.

It also includes legislation to provide a state tax exemption for plug-in electric vehicles, and Legislation to support the Western Climate Initiative cap and trade system. For more information on this legislation, go here. To see the one-stop green jobs and climate action Web page, go here. To view the full package, go here.

Like I’ve said before, everything green happens at the exact same time. Let’s take tomorrow, for example:

At 10 a.m. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is rolling out the red carpet for McKinstry as he presents an approved development permit to expand its current headquarters site in Georgetown. McKinstry says it expects to create more than 500 jobs.

(In case you missed it, McKinstry recently received a 10-year contract from the U.S. Department of Energy worth up to $5 billion for energy efficient projects in federal buildings. President Barack Obama is also a fan of the company.)

At the same time, Gov. Chris Gregoire will announce her 2009 green jobs and climate action legislation, and present results of the Employment Security Department’s “Washington State Green Economy Jobs Survey.” The announcement will be made at South Puget Sound Community College’s new LEED-certified Natural Sciences Building.

What’s a girl to cover?

The Environmental News Network recently alerted me to a report by fastcompany.com on the 10 best green jobs for the next decade. Whether it’s truly reputable or not, I don’t know, but I do know that it’s an interesting list that doesn’t inlcude (gasp!) architects, engineers, contractors or developers.

Here’s the apparent top 10 green jobs, in ENN’s words:

#1– Farmer. The average age of the American farmer is nearing retirement age. A new generation of small-scale, local growers is needed.

#2– Forester. The field has growing international significance as programs aim to finance, conserve and develop forests in developing nations.

#3– Solar Power Installer. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts an increase to over 110,000 good-paying jobs by 2016 and maybe more if anticipated tax credits are accelerated.

#4– Energy Efficiency Builder. Obama’s pledge to improve the energy efficiency of public buildings and homes could create almost a million jobs.

#5– Wind Turbine Fabricator.  The wind industry reportedly added 10,000 new jobs in 2007 and it is the fastes growing source of alternative energy.

#7– Green MBA and Entrepreneur. More and more, companies are beginning to understand that the values of sustainability are about survival, not just good press.

#8– Recycler. Although the industry is currently in a downturn. Recycling is still more cost effective than waste disposal, and supportive regulations continue to increase.

#9– Sustainability Systems Developer. These are the high-tech positions. Essentially computer information systems (CIS) designed for support energy efficiency and alternative energy supply.

#10– Urban Planner. Large infrastructure changes are needed to transition to less carbon intensive lifestyles and to prepare for climate change.

What do you think, did they get it right?

The economy is depressing. So today I offer green job seekers out there a few rays of light in all this gloom with the below green jobs, which are currently open:

Looking for a job?

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland is looking for building energy modelers and analyst’s, not to mention a number of other positions including business intern. For more information, visit their job site here.

The Cascadia Region Green Building Council’s Research Department is hiring a living building outreach director who will initiate and oversee communication among all enthusiasts of the Living Building Challange. For more, visit Cascadia here.

Paladino and Co. is looking for a green building mechanical engineering consultant, a green building commissioning agent and a marketing communications manager. More here.

Good luck out there! For more job sites, check out Green Dream Jobs, AIA Seattle’s Job Bank or Cascadia’s Job Board.

Want a job as the sustainable infrastructure advisor for the city of Seattle Green Building Team and Planning Department? Well the job is open and waiting for you. There’s only one catch: the position closes on Tuesday.

Before you get angry on me for last minute posting, be warned that I just received

Is this the job for you?

this e-mail today. Now it’s your responsibility to move quickly!

The e-mail says the job is “a mid to senior level position.” Salary range is $32.42 to $48.63 per hour. The job that requires the person to have:

• Technical expertise in low impact development, district energy/thermal distribution systems, on-site water and wastewater processing and other decentralized technologies.
• Strong communication skills.
• Financial skills to develop the business case for solutions that may provide distributed benefits to a variety of business units and stakeholders.

You also have to have a BA degree and five years experience in government policy and public utilities. To apply, click here. Happy hunting!

Steve Nicholas, one of the most constant faces in Seattle sustainability politics, has left the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Environment. In fact, he’s even leaving the state!

That’s right. Nicholas, who has been the director of OSE for eight years (longer than the mayor has been mayor), will begin a new job in Montpelier, Vt. in October as director of climate programs at the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

His spot will be filled, as in interim position, by Michael Mann, the deputy director of the Office of Policy and Management. Mann recently led the department’s Transportation and Infrastructure Team. 

Sadly, Nicholas has already left the building and I have no forwarding address. But what I can tell you is back in 2001, when he had just been appointed the office’s first director, Nicholas told the DJC here, “My goal is to work the Office of Sustainability out of existence in 10 years.”

Back then, the article reads:

“If, on the other hand, his office becomes a “repository for all things sustainable. That’s an abject failure,” he says.”

A lot of things have changed since that article. But some things haven’t changed. The office is still around. The city is still looking at a streamlined permitting process for green buildings. We’re still wrestling with the word ’sustainability.’

Readers, it hasn’t been 10 years yet — only eight. But what do you think the office has accomplished in that time? Has Seattle done everything it could to encourage sustainable development, living, business etc., in eight years or not? And is the mayor’s office a repository for all things sustainable or slowly being worked out of existence? What do you think are the biggest green development changes in that time?

Oh, and if anyone has Steve’s e-mail, tell him I’m lookin’ for him!

For more DJC articles on Steve Nicholas, see this article he wrote for us in 2004, this one he wrote in 2005, this one he wrote in 2002, this one about the mayor’s crusade for trees, and this one about smart growth.