Earth Day 2000

WASHINGTON

"You can work green ... and earn green. Environmental jobs are in demand, and with so many different types of jobs, there's one for almost anyone interested in having Mother Earth for a boss." That's the message from U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman who used the first Earth Day of the new millennium to shine a spotlight on environmental jobs.

For Earth Day 2000, Secretary Herman is releasing "Work Green and Earn Green," a list of 10 environmental jobs designed to showcase the broad array of "green occupations" available in today's job market.

Making the "Work Green and Earn Green" list are jobs that require advanced degrees and jobs that require only a high school diploma and associate's degree: biological scientist, chemical engineer, civil engineering technician, environmental engineer, environmental technician, hazardous materials removal worker, park ranger, soil conservationist, urban planner and wastewater treatment plant operator.

The list includes the diverse skills and education requirements, responsibilities, earnings and projected job growth for each job. Five of the jobs require a high school diploma and usually an associate's degree and five jobs require at least a bachelor's or master's degree. "It's not enough to love nature and enjoy working outdoors," according to Herman. "Today's environmental jobs demand skills, including good mathematics skills, computer literacy and job specific training. Most of these occupations have been transformed by computer technology."

Besides traditional environmental jobs like biological scientist,environmental engineer and park ranger, the list also emphasizes jobs that are not typically considered "green," like chemical engineer and urban planner. "Some chemical engineers specialize in a particular environmental area, such as pollution control," Herman said, "and urban planners are involved in environmental issues ranging from pollution control to wetland preservation, forest conservation or the location of landfills."

To draw additional attention to environmental careers, Herman will don a hazardous remediation "space suit" and get first-hand "hazmat" skills training at the Laborers' Joint Training Fund facility in Cheverly, Md., at 11 a.m. today. She will learn how to safely and correctly obtain hazardous soil and water samples, as well as search and identify buried drums that contain hazardous materials.

To learn more about these and other green jobs, the labor secretary suggests the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. The 2000-2001 edition is available on the Internet at https://stats.bls.gov/ocohome.htm