Dream Job! Green or Red Road?
Like the characters in “The Wizard of Oz” story that followed “the yellow brick road,” why are some people intent on following the “green” road to a mythological utopian society? Kansas to Switzerland road trip can take one from land to air or sea to mountaintops. No, not to some “green job,” but to study abroad.
Or, as some students, studying “sustainability” on the ocean front hills of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, according to an article in the Summer 2021 issue of their school Magazine.
Ideological, inspirational words and wishful thinking resonated. I had not heard of someone seeing “climate justice and Christianity blend so perfectly together.” Still, does one need to pay a university to “feel you could do anything?” Have you seen the tuition fees for being “wave” alumni?
So what exactly are these “sustainable” jobs? For some it’s working in Public Relations or Sustainability Manager. Or, what some say increasing company’s bottom line by creating greater efficiencies while give the appearance they care about the environment.
Is it any coincidence these teachings of “sustainability” are at a business school where students are said to bring their hands together in prayer as CEOs rub theirs? And where are these jobs? Reportedly companies like Trader Joe’s and Hewlett-Packard.
First, let me say the five students I read about are seemingly nice people who appear to care about their world. What they actually accomplish in real practical terms for people “in their community” is quite another. They were able to get to the why. How about the HOW?
Sure, one can find countless stories of students visiting “idyllic small-scale farms.” But after the trip, you need to come back to reality.
So Where Are These “Green Jobs?” The Myths of Green Jobs
Before we start “envisioning a world of green jobs,” we may wish to consider the 2009 paper “Green Job Myths” in the Journal of Environmental and Sustainability Law by experts in law and economics: Andrew P. Morriss, William T. Bogart, Andrew Dorchak, and Roger E. Meiners.
“We have explored the problems in the green jobs analysis in depth; we now conclude by summarizing the mythologies of green jobs in seven myths about green jobs:
Myth 1: There is such a thing as a “green job.”
Myth 2: Creating green jobs will boost productive employment.
Myth 3: Green jobs forecasts are reliable.
Myth 4: Green jobs promote employment growth.
Myth 5: The world economy can be remade based on local production and reduced consumption without dramatically decreasing human welfare.
Myth 6: Mandates are a substitute for markets.
Myth 7: Wishing for technological progress is sufficient.”
I leave it to those who have or had a “green job” to decide. However, what is definitely not a myth is the rising impact of X-Treme FLUX©on Earth.
Problem stems from the vulnerability of supply chains, or to be more precise, supply networks. This is a drastic two fold problems that has been amplified by a global pandemic.
- Insecure networks are open to online hacking, pirating and re-trafficking of supplies.
- Crates sitting on vessels detained on account of geopolitical forces as well as ground carriers denied country border crossings will as a consequence leave markets with product shortages. Staple products especially those in extreme temperatures face shorter shelf life or at worse spoilage.
I remind you, “Grass is not always greener on the other side.”
Green, Quick, and Dirty
The Green market is an “open source” market, all its own. A rise of new third party vendors and shoppers in all market spaces has resurfaced in the guise of “green” and quick, never mind the dirty product and now possibly contagious shopper.
The market of marketing products as “environmentally friendly” can be seen across various industries especially technology, vehicles and household products. The use of the word “smart” is ubiquitous. However, its pervasiveness comes second to plastic.
Although there are many examples, one stood out, “Bottle made of 100% ocean bound plastic. In partnership with plastic bank.” The question is, other than household products, is the plastic used for bottled water made from PLASTIC WASTE? Think about that the next you take a drink.
A generation that buys old/used whether by choice or necessity increases. E-commerce has facilitated the sale of new and used products with questionable Vendors.
Online companies bring to mind the question: Are we sacrificing present jobs and betting on the future? Richard J. Lazarus, Professor of Law at the Harvard University Center for the Environmental may support this gamble.
Lazarus’ paper, “Super Wicked Problems and Climate Change: Restraining the Present to Liberate the Future, argues “the purpose of such strategies is not to protect the present at the expense of the future, but the precise opposite: to protect the future at the expense of the present.”
New “Super Wicked Problems?” Finding “Red Jobs”
According to a recent NPR broadcast, a United Nations Report was “Clear, Compelling, and Forceful” that the “Planet is warming and humans responsible.” It concluded saying “2050 will be worse, hotter.” If we accept the premise and conclusion, basically, the next thirty years will not get any better.
I for one am skeptical. Sure report was clear and compelling. But it was not convincing and forceful. Not that I doubt planet will likely continue with what I term of X-Treme FLUX.
Sure, humans are responsible. But what are not forcibly addressed are population size and fossil fuel industry and manufacturers skirting seriously addressing the problem by selling the public the idea of “sustainability.” Now, the immediate question to ask given we’ve got the next thirty years to ride this horse is, What do we do about drugs and medical supplies that can hurt or kill us before 2050?
Countries dependence on China, noted in my paper, “Primum Movens: World Merchant Supplying and Controlling the Chains have been awaken by the fiery power of the “dragon.” US is feeling the heat.
Rosemary Gibson’s book, China Rx: Exposing the Risks of America’s Dependence on China for Medicine, points out “Millions of Americans are taking prescription drugs made in China and don’t know it–and pharmaceutical companies are not eager to tell them. This is a disturbing, well-researched wake-up call for improving the current system of drug supply and manufacturing.”
Kind of makes “green jobs” not as important right. Yes and no. Core resources like water are crucial. But humans need to realistically face their dependence on energy. Still, what good is striving to eliminate fossil fuels, when the medicine that you depend on is made in China where “incidents of illness and death caused by contaminated medications that prompted reform” have been documented?
If “lapses in safety standards and quality control in Chinese manufacturing are a risk,” why not push for “red jobs” in the US? Because US pharmaceutical industry along with corporate America sold out decades ago. And as Morriss, et al. explain “economic growth cannot be ordered by Congress or by the United Nations…”
Ironic is it not. US, determined to eliminate communism went to war in Vietnam resulting in the death of thousands. A decade later, the Peoples Republic of America “sleeps with the enemy” the Peoples Republic of China. Nuptials read, “Capitalism+Communism, till death do us part.” It’s a damn shame; US did not demand a prenuptial agreement. Or did they?
The Wonderful Wizard of US
A story with a lesson – searching for that which is inherent may put you on a perilous journey only to discover the so called wizard has no real power, but that which you give him. Alas, country and city folk alike have found that the “land of Oz” veils an ugly truth.
Morriss, et al. conclude that “The failure of the twentieth century’s utopian experiments suggests caution in undertaking such widespread transformations of society. Unfortunately, the analysis provided in the green jobs literature is deeply flawed, resting on a series of myths about the economy, the environment, and technology.”
So is your job Wicked or Good? Present climate economy or future market based? Or, did you find it was just a myth? In any case, be sure to keep your “red colored slippers” on. Lest both witches, East and West, attempt sabotage. I remind you, there are TWO Red Slippers.
Precipice nears. Demand for Red Jobs is in the Horizon. Wickedly, my “crystal ball” shows many searching, left to the power of their devices. Few will rediscover they have heart, mind, and courage. No need to search over rainbows for dreamy mythical “green jobs.” Lucky ones will discover “there’s no place like home.”