Working For Jobs

By Claire Thompson

A sweet potato from Saura Pride Purple Sweet Potato, a fledgling business that was once a tobacco farm. (All photos by RAFI.)

Alan Flippin comes from a long line of North Carolina tobacco growers. But, a few years back, the crop just stopped making sense. His family’s operation stopped making much of a profit as the cost of fertilizer and other inputs rose. And, Flippin says, “I don’t really enjoy growing tobacco; I don’t use it. I was looking to get into something else.”

He wanted to transition to growing produce instead — something he could feel good about cultivating, eating, and selling. But shifting to a completely different crop is a hugely risky proposition. “With tobacco, you pretty much know how to grow it; you’ve got a market, and you get insurance for your crops,” Flippin says. “Whereas for produce, it’s very scary because there’s so much you don’t know.”

Flippin’s fledgling produce operation got off the ground with the help of a grant from something called the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund. The grant enabled him to build a greenhouse and experiment with several varieties of organic vegetables to sell to wholesalers, farmers markets, and at a local co-op.

The fund was created in the wake of the Tobacco Master Settlement to help North Carolina’s agricultural communities transition to new sources of income. According to the terms of the settlement, announced in 1997, the country’s four largest tobacco companies would make perpetual payments to 46 states to compensate them for smoking-related health care costs and, in tobacco-growing states, economic losses (four other states already had individual agreements with tobacco companies).

A percentage of North Carolina’s settlement money goes to the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund, which is a program of the nonprofit Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI).

Jefferson Herr, owner of Herr Flower Farm, is a recipient of funding from the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund.

“The idea,” says Joseph Schroeder, the fund’s director, was to “fund farmers to take that first step in discovering new, innovative ways of making money off farms. In turn we would make them share their lessons and business plans with their community.” Tobacco comes with many of the same issues as other commodity crops (those grown at a large scale and sold to the commodities market, such as corn, wheat, and cotton): It’s a monocrop that requires large amounts of pesticides, depletes soil, and is susceptible to disease. And tobacco locks farmers into a dependent relationship with the corporations who buy their crops and provide them with seeds and pesticides.

The transition from commodity crops to more diverse, locally focused operations can be jarring, and hard for farmers to make on their own. As Flippin noted, small and mid-scale farmers rarely have the security of crop insurance, which makes it much easier to get loans. “Getting that capital infusion [from the Fund] was a big boost to us,” Flippin says. “It really got the ball rolling.”

Beyond the struggle to access capital, Schroeder says, “the thing about commodity production — and tobacco is one of the best examples of this — is you don’t learn how to do everything you need to do to be an entrepreneur. All you learn how to do is grow the product.”

In addition to money, the grant gave Flippin access to guidance from a regional expert and support from a network of grantees around the state. And, true to the other end of the deal, Flippin’s business now serves as a model for how a farm can transition from tobacco to produce. “We’re one of the farms everybody’s looking towards to see if we actually make money or not,” he says.

Though the fund was originally intended for tobacco growers, it’s now open to anyone who earns the majority of their income through farming. In addition to grants for individual farmers, the fund awards community grants for collaborative efforts, and the range of projects they’ve have supported — over 500 in the last 15 years — is an inspiring testament to the potential of farmers’ innovation.

Meredith McKissick, who grows flowers, got a community grant to buy shared-use equipment for a farmers’ cooperative she belongs to near Asheville, N.C., and later served on the review board that selects grantees.

Kay Doby of Hot Shot Goat Farm (once a debt-inducing conventional poultry business).

“It was a super amazing experience for me to see all the different farmers trying to be innovative,” she says of the review process. “There was one fellow who had been [raising chickens] and had been asked to make upgrades he simply couldn’t afford, so he was forced out of his contract. His family banded together and decided they would turn one of the chicken houses into a creamery for dairy goats. Despite his age, he was starting over from scratch. That made me feel like there was hope for some of these growers getting squeezed out.”

Schroeder explains that while other states often funnel settlement funds toward a few specific crops and farming practices, in North Carolina, they “trust the farmer to be the expert.”

That strategy has paid off: Schroeder says RAFI’s surveys report that over 80 percent of the projects it’s funded are successful after three years. And because of the requirement that proposals be replicable — ideas that other farmers could learn from and adapt — the success of any one project has a resounding impact. A University of North Carolina study [PDF] found that each dollar awarded to a farmer through the reinvestment fund generates a whopping $205 of local economic activity, and that each grant creates an average of 11 new jobs in one year.

The Fund is based on some pretty simple principles: Support farmers with new and creative ways to make a living off the land; encourage them to share their ideas and inspire others; and in the process, revitalize rural economies once dependent on commodity crops. It’s exciting to imagine how this model could be applied to other industries — corn, industrial livestock, even coal and oil.

Sadly, the Fund has taken a bit of a financial hit. It’s fully funded by the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, which was nearly eliminated in the state’s recent budget crisis; instead, it went from distributing $35 million to just $2 million. That means this year, the Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund was only able to give out 34 grants compared to last year’s 181 grants. But the ripple effects of the fund will hopefully continue to widen, especially as recently funded projects grow.

Flippin, for his part, feels that his years of produce-growing trial and error are about to pay off. “The broccoli’s looking great, the zucchinis are looking great, and the tomatoes are looking great,” he says. “It’s finally all coming together this year.”

Filed under: Food, Industrial Agriculture, Locavore, Sustainable Farming

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By Stephen Lacey

Photo by rustman.

A version of this post originally appeared on Climate Progress.

In an attempt to keep the political war against renewable energy in the headlines, Republicans held another hearing to question the value of government investments in the sector.

Looks like 10 political sideshows on Solyndra weren’t enough.

If the hearing were being used as a chance to objectively assess where the industry stands, that would be one thing. But the title of the meeting gave away the real political intent: “The Obama Administration’s Green Energy Gamble: What Have All The Taxpayer Subsidies Achieved?”

Actually, those green energy investments have yielded substantial returns. While the political grandstanding goes on in the House of Representatives, here are five important things you should know about how promotion of clean energy has supported American businesses and consumers:

1. The 1603 grant program supported up to 75,000 jobs and 23,000 renewable energy projects during the height of the recession. When the recession hit, it was very difficult for project developers to find banks that were willing to utilize tax credits. So a cash grant program was created to give companies an easier way to finance projects. While it’s very difficult to know the exact influence of the grant on each project, the program played a major role in maintaining momentum — helping support $25 billion in gross economic activity, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

2. The production tax credit helps leverage up to $20 billion in private investment annually. With this key tax credit in place, the wind industry has dropped costs by 90 percent over the last few decades. It’s helped states like Iowa reach 20 percent wind penetration — bringing that state over 215 businesses that support 5,000 workers. Across the rest of the U.S., the entire industry supports 75,000 jobs, with 30,000 in manufacturing. However, up to 37,000 of those jobs could be at risk due to congressional lawmakers’ inability to extend the tax credit.

3. The loan guarantee program is expected to cost $2 billion less than budgeted. This program has gotten a black eye due to the bankruptcies of a few companies — most famously Solyndra — that received guarantees. But according to John McCain’s national finance chair, Herb Allison, the cost to taxpayers will likely be far less than initially thought. In fact, over the last 20 years of experience, the U.S. government has shown a knack for managing risk — with loans and loan guarantee programs only costing tax payers $0.94 for every $100 invested.

4. Home weatherization grew 1,000 percent from April to June of 2011, creating 14,800 jobs. After a slow ramp-up, efficiency programs supported by the stimulus package have helped weatherize hundreds of thousands of homes. In addition to supporting the retrofits of individual homes, the Obama administration has supported the Better Buildings Initiative, a program that has leveraged billions of private dollars to upgrade more than 4 billion square feet of public and private buildings in the next two years. That’s enough demand to support over 100,000 jobs.

5. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) has supported dozens of potentially groundbreaking technologies in advanced materials, renewable fuels, electricity generation, waste heat, and battery storage. Helping enhance America’s lead in technological innovation, ARPA-E — initially funded through the stimulus package — has helped inventors, companies, and university labs boost their work. This program has immense bipartisan support for promoting the “innovative research that makes America great and has fueled our economic growth for generations.”

Despite these successes, Republicans continue milking the Solyndra bankruptcy for an election-year story that doesn’t hold up — dragging the rest of the clean energy industry into the mud.

The sector has gone through some high-profile shake-ups and bankruptcies, so it’s the duty of lawmakers to understand how taxpayer dollars are being deployed. That’s a supportable endeavor. But holding yet another hearing to lambast the president for a so-called “gamble” in clean energy isn’t productive for anyone.

Filed under: Article, Energy Policy, Politics, Renewable Energy

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Milwaukee County/Milwaukee, WI (southeastern Wisconsin)

MILWAUKEE COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
HUMAN RESOURCES

POSITION DESCRIPTION

OFFICIAL TITLE OF POSITION: (Proposed) Director of Sustainability

NAME OF PRESENT INCUMBENT: Vacant

DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services

DIVISION: Facilities Management (ORG 5700)

REPORTS TO (Name & Title): Vacant, Facilities Management Director

TITLE CODE: POSITION NUMBER: PAY RANGE: ExDir 2 (Proposed)

TYPE OF POSITION: (Check One) FT X PT Hourly Seasonal

PURPOSE OF POSITION: Under the general direction of the Facilities Management Director (Director), the Director of Sustainability is responsible for the overall administration, development and management of all county-wide sustainability programs including, but not limited to, environmentally preferable procurement, resource conservation, recycling, waste reduction, climate change, and green building. The incumbent provides general oversight and guidance in association to the work of project managers and project staff related to sustainability-oriented issues and performs other duties as required. This position works with all County departments and external entities in the course of promoting and advancing sustainability programs for county agencies.

TITLE(S) OF POSITION(S) SUPERVISED: (must include disciplining and evaluating):
The Director of Sustainability is located in the Facilities Management Division of the Department of Administrative Services, and reports directly to the Director. The Director of Sustainability has overall responsibility for the county-wide sustainability programs and/or projects; including the design and development of program areas, oversight and administration of multiple program budgets, and collaboration with project managers and staff performing tasks related to the Sustainability Program. The Director of Sustainability is distinguished from the Environmental and Sustainability Engineer in that the former has overall responsibility for the development and management of all program areas whereas the Engineer has responsibility for the management of day-to-day sustainability program activities of assigned program and/or project areas. Incumbents in this class also resolve complex programmatic and administrative problems related to the Sustainability Program and assist with the assignment of specific program areas(s) and/or projects to the project manager to manage. The Director of Sustainability is further distinguished from the Director in that the latter has responsibility for all programs within the Department.

KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS & ABILITIES: Indicate a corresponding knowledge, skill and/or ability required for each of the above indicated duties.

Knowledge of:
• Principles, practices and techniques of program development and administration.
• Principles and practices of supervision, training and performance evaluation.
• Organizational practices as applied to the analysis and evaluation of programs, policies and operational needs.
• Principals of budget, grant, and contract preparation, administration and management.
• Principles, practices and laws, codes and regulations related to environmentally preferable procurement, sustainability, recycling, waste reduction, climate change, green building.
• Modern office procedures, methods and equipment including computers and various software.

Ability to:
• Plan, organize, direct, coordinate, analyze and evaluate programs and services to departments/agencies.
• Independently develop, manage and administer program goals, objectives and procedures.
• Manage and direct the work of assigned staff.
• Develop and analyze budgets
• Prepare clear and accurate reports, correspondence, proposals and other written material of a technical nature.
• Identify and respond to sensitive community and organizational issues, concerns or needs including technical issues and questions.
• Interpret, explain, and apply complex policies, laws and regulations.
• Assess financial and operational viability to projects and recommendations
• Develop and implement program performance measures
• Communicate effectively orally and in writing
• Establish and maintain various data collection, record keeping, tracking and reporting systems.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships
• Collect, analyze, and compile technical and statistical information.
• Demonstrate interpersonal sensitivity

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Education: Possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in environmental science, or engineering, social science urban planning, public policy, public or business administration or a related field.

Experience: The equivalent of five years full-time increasingly responsible experience in the field of environmentally preferable procurement, sustainability, resource conservation, waste reduction, recycling, climate change, green building, or related area including two years of managerial experience with responsibility for planning, organizing, coordinating and directing diversified staff and complex programs. Possession of a Masters degree from an accredited college or university in environmental science, urban planning, public policy, public or business administration or a related field may be substituted for one year of the required experience.

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EnergeiaWorks/Denver, CO

Job Description:
Evaluates vendors' operations and products for compliance with company quality standards. Make suggestions to management regarding vendor selection. Compiles data for documentation of test procedures and may prepare reports for presentation to management.
Directs and coordinates quality inspection of parts, components, and materials produced by subcontractors and vendors, and surveillance of subcontractors' manufacturing processes.
Directs sampling inspection, and testing of received parts, components, and materials to determine conformance to standards.
Conducts periodic and special surveys of subcontractors' facilities and manufacturing processes to determine adequacy and capability of quality control and ability to comply with complete quality specifications.
Reviews quality problems with engineering personnel and directs action required to correct defects.
Prepares periodic and special reports concerning departmental activities, problems, subcontractors' quality system, schedules, and rejected items.
Aids in organizational planning by participating in departmental conferences.
Lead process improvement efforts using quality system tools and procedures to drive process quality improvements and leverage statistical tools for evaluation of process capability on critical-to-quality parameters
Coordinate and lead First Piece Qualification plans, Supplier/process verification efforts, PPAP process, supplier quality system audits and surveillance program
May direct, manage and lead the activities of inspectors and technicians in the consistent application of discipline and control resources, processes and ensure adherence to company policies
Monitor and address quality cost reductions with suppliers and incorporate key manufacturing critical-to-quality parameters into supplier processes

Requirements:
4-6 years of manufacturing experience within a high tech/electronic sector
Proven track record in part of organizational change and examples of interaction with the most senior executive levels of the organization
Ability to effectively utilize application software, word processing, spreadsheets and specialized application software packages (ie, Minitab)
Excellent organizational and communication skills with the ability to write reports and procedure manuals, as well as to effectively present information
Documented examples where the candidate has similar project implementation and delivered results consistent with requirements of this position
Having a Six Sigma Black Belt certification would be an advantage.
Should be familiar implementing and maintaining ISO 9001 and ISO14001 standards within a fast pace dynamic high volume consumer electronic.
Bachelor’s Degree (preferably in engineering)
Apply at http://www.energeiaworks.com

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By Rebecca Messner

When it comes to purchasing clean energy, the more the merrier. (Photo by Hepburn Wind.)

We join together with our fellow humans for the sake of saving a buck all the time. That’s why public transportation exists — it’s cheaper for 20 people to get on one bus than it is for 20 people to drive their own cars. (Oh right, and buses are also super cool.) Or think of roommates — sure, they never wash their dishes, but living with them saves us hundreds of dollars in rent.

Groundswell, a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., wants to add clean electricity to the list of things that are better off shared.

Groundswell was founded by three guys who worked on President Obama’s campaign in 2008. “They had really seen the impact of community organizing in a political space,” says Elizabeth Lindsey, the group’s managing director. “And after the campaign, they were really interested in seeing how you could take that model and make a tangible difference outside the political sphere.”

To do this, Groundswell helps communities leverage their collective purchasing power to win the best possible deals on clean energy. They bring together nonprofits, community groups, churches, or individuals to make bulk purchases of wind-powered electricity, for example, or energy efficiency upgrades on homes and buildings. Buying as a group allows them to negotiate lower prices, and could potentially make this type of service available in areas where individuals and solitary community groups cannot afford it alone.

Reverend Tom Knoll of First Trinity Lutheran Church says his congregation saved $6,000 in a year by partnering with other Washington, D.C., churches to buy wind power. The church plowed the savings into charitable programs such as a food pantry, low-income housing, and job training programs. An added bonus was getting to know other churches, he says: “We don’t normally talk to one another, even though we may all be Christian.”

Lindsey, who worked in green workforce development before joining Groundswell, was attracted by the organization’s emphasis on job creation. “There were often government programs or nonprofit programs that were paying for training programs, but there weren’t necessarily jobs available for these individuals once the training had occurred,” she says. “When I first heard about Groundswell, I was really impressed by the fact that they were looking at the other side of the equation — not just, like, ‘We need to train people,’ but ‘How can we actually build a clean economy where jobs are actually created?’”

Lindsey also notes that together, groups can make demands that align with their values — like insisting on only working with contractors who provide health care for their employees or hire local residents or unemployed workers. “Because these groups are working together, they’re able to build in different social outcomes that they’d like to see,” she says.

But bringing clean energy to poor communities has been a challenge for the group. Although Groundswell does work in some underserved communities in D.C. and Maryland, even buying in bulk, costs can be prohibitive. “It’s expensive to get your home weatherized, and quite honestly, a lot of low-income communities can’t afford it,” Lindsey says.

Still, over time, Groundswell’s model of empowering communities may provide the missing link in the clean economy: consumer demand. Like the organization’s name, Lindsey says, “it’s a wave that builds over time. If you have one person, it’s great. But if you have five people, 10 people — we’re really building these powerful groups of consumers together.”

Filed under: Business & Technology, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy

View full post on Grist

By Michele Simon

Editor’s note: For another perspective on this series, see this post.

The Weight of the Nation — a four-part mini-series that ran this week on HBO (and online) — has received a lot of attention. Produced in coordination with several federal government agencies and paired with a major national conference, the show has been heralded as “groundbreaking” and “bold.” But it’s really just the same old story.

The Weight of the Nation trailer alone smacks of tired stereotypes, but colleagues implored me to watch the entire series, so I did. And it was even worse than I feared.

I’m all in favor of bringing more attention to the nation’s diet-related health crisis. But the HBO series distracts us with the usual scare tactics, dances around the hard political issues, and leaves the viewer with the misguided impression that if we all just worked harder in our own communities, we can fix this mess.

A still from Weight of the Nation.

Fear the fat – more shaming and blaming

Many others have provided excellent explanations for why all the alarm-sounding over obesity should be questioned from a scientific perspective. For example, see Deb Burgard’s and Linda Bacon’s responses to the series, which both stem from the Health at Every Size movement, and aim to shift away from size and fat-shaming toward health and compassion.

Marilyn Wann also gives a historical overview and critique of the series and disputes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s claim that Weight of the Nation is “an unprecedented public health campaign.”

But even without getting into a debate over data, there’s clear evidence –- in the form of scientific research — that many people exhibit “obesity bias.” In other words, fat people have enough problems dealing with discrimination, bullying, and stigma, and shows like this make life even more difficult for them.

Indeed, the first two episodes were all about the sad people suffering from one malady or another, interspersed with health expert talking heads scaring us with statistics and images of organs and surgeries. There was not a peep about thin people’s risk for many of the same diet-related chronic diseases.

What The Weight of the Nation got right

The third segment, which focuses on children, did finally address junk food marketing, with excellent quotes from folks like Kelly Brownell of the Rudd Center on Obesity and Food Policy (he calls such marketing “powerful, pernicious, and predatory”), and Margo Wootan of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Marketing shapes kids’ choices, to foods that will kill them,” Wootan told the filmmakers. This segment also included good footage of a Congressional hearing on the marketing of processed food, the only foray into actual policymaking in the entire program.

Also helpful were segments on agricultural policies and the way our bodies are hard-wired to conserve fat. These were a clear attempt to shift the conversation away from personal responsibility. However, none of these discussions dove deeply enough into the politics. Overall, the show’s messages stayed safely in the realms of medicine, exercise, behavior change, and localized solutions.

Missed opportunities

The Weight of the Nation includes numerous examples of soda and junk food marketing to children, but spends far too little time on the powerful lobbying by the food, advertising, and media industries that undermine policymaking. And it’s not like such information isn’t readily available.

During a segment showing Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter wandering the streets of his city in search of healthy food, I thought: This would be a great time to talk about how the American Beverage Association lobbied to stop his soda tax proposal. (The group even donated $10 million to Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital to ensure his silence.) But no, not a chance.

On a similar note, many of the experts on the show identified soft drinks as enemy No. 1. But none of the many scenes with New York City’s health commissioner Tom Farley mentioned that city’s attempt to restrict food stamp spending on soft drinks — another attempt at policy change that got heavy push-back from the soda industry.

I was hopeful during one segment when the talking heads admitted that exercise and physical activity were really far less important than food intake when it comes to addressing obesity, a point I’ve made related to children. (Kudos for the experts’ take-down of the awful show The Biggest Loser.)

But despite this, far too much emphasis was placed on exercise throughout the program and the only tangible policy ideas were for things like walking and bike paths.

Where are the policy solutions?

In fact, most disappointing was how the program offered no clear policy solutions. And not a single lawyer appeared to discuss litigation as a strategy to hold the food industry accountable. And what about the farm bill, which is up for renewal this year?

Nope, that’s all too edgy — even for HBO.

Of course the entire project was produced in collaboration with the federal Department of Health and Human Services, which isn’t exactly going to criticize the Obama administration for its failure to lead on numerous food issues. Also featured prominently was the Congressional advisory body, the Institute of Medicine, which released a set of recommendations last week, which are remarkably similar to those released seven years ago.

Obesity distracts from food system change

Continuing to focus on obesity is problematic for numerous reasons. As this program painfully demonstrates, it’s too easy to place the blame on individuals as the locus of change. Add to that how the food industry uses obesity as an excuse to market healthier foods (while they help fund playgrounds and exercise programs) and you have a smokescreen behind which the real issues are often obscured.

Instead of focusing on body size, let’s garner the political power we need to fix the food system. This approach is admittedly much more complex than calories in/calories out, but it’s also more compassionate. As Deb Burgard explains, the blame game is just too easy:

Blaming fatness keeps us from addressing the root causes of our problems and is clearly unfair to fat people. Many powerful people understand this but find it expedient to frame a problem in terms of fat in order to bring attention to it. They don’t think people will attend to the real issue unless they whip up the fat panic … I say, have the courage to make your argument about the real issues and stop doing it on the backs of fat people.

Doing so will take a concerted political movement — one that can’t be brought to you by cable television.

Filed under: Food

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By Chip Giller

Dear Grist readers,

Please give to Grist today. It’s our last shot at $25K!

My staff has been struck by a curse:
We have to keep speaking in verse.
But a timely donation
Will offer salvation –
Give now, or this curse will get worse!

Grist readers, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the raven that put this curse upon us, I’m going to break from speaking in verse for just a moment so I can ask you, in all earnestness, to support Grist today with as little as $5.

We gotta get just a few more gifts by midnight to earn an additional $25,000 from a generous donor. We are so close to our goal of 3,000 gifts, and we don’t want to leave that money on the table. Please help us meet our goal and capture the gold. We don’t want to be doomed to meetings like this:

If you value our clever reporting,
And the changes that we are exhorting,
If we’ve made your life better,
And you have some spare cheddar,
Then isn’t this Grist worth supporting?

Doggerel-ly,

Chip Giller
Founder and CEO

P.S. Giving online make you a wreck? You’re also welcome to send a check: Grist, 710 Second Avenue, Suite 860, Seattle, WA 98104.

P.P.S. If we reach our goal by May 15, Grist will receive $25,000 from a generous donor. Read more…

Ecova (formally Advantage IQ and Ecos)/Dallas, TX (Richardson)

The Operations Manager, Service Delivery (herein referred to as Manager, Utility Service Delivery) leads and manages a functional team(s) with
responsibility for delivering best in class utility expense management services through optimizing
processes and delivering a high quality product, adding value for our clients. This position requires a
strategic vision and is able to critically evaluate business processes, making recommendations and
changes as appropriate. This position will model a strong client focus that will successfully support and
assist the company’s Real Estate Owned (REO) Utility Management Solutions in achieving key business
objectives.
Role Description
 Maintain leadership standards that foster teamwork by promoting continuous improvement,
soliciting suggestions and new ideas, and encouraging the exchange of information with all
employees throughout the company.
 Promote leadership development, and act as a mentor for Supervisors and team members.
Establish and promote leadership qualities that support seamless communication and teamwork
within the delivery teams, in the pursuit of establishing a cohesive culture and in support of
delivery excellence.
 Continuously strive to build employee engagement and motivation for client service and the
success of the business. Recognize and celebrate department and individual accomplishments.
Model a strong client service commitment philosophy.
 Assist with the development, implementation and support of operational standard processes and
technology enhancement needs to help drive consistency, accuracy and efficiency.
 Strategically partner with vendor partners to help achieve key company objectives
 Assist in the development of and responsible for the monitoring of goals and objectives specific to
team performance to ensure a high level of client satisfaction around our service offerings.
 Provides business process accountability for responsible functions and assists with continued
process improvement, operational efficiencies and identification of technology changes and
enhancements. Continually challenges existing procedures to identify efficiency gain
opportunities.
 Assists in annual budget development and ongoing activities related to operational expenses
specific to their team.
 Collaborates with Training to determine training needs and develop solutions to support functional
strategies and business needs.
Making a World of Difference – At Ecova, we believe each individual, no matter the role, can make a difference for our clients, the
environment and for themselves. Ecova is built on a strong foundation of integrity, community, leadership, persistence and urgency.
Our highest goal is to be the market leading, trusted advisor to organizations driven to maximize results, reduce expenses, manage
risk and improve environmental performance. Our focus is to grow results on saving resources for our clients – from utilities to
facilities. We apply data-driven insights – from demand to impact – to target inefficiencies and See More, Save More and Sustain
More for our clients.
We strive to deliver results and innovation through efforts of our unparalleled people to each and every client with whom we
engage. We’re on the look-out for team players to work with us in serving as an integral extension of our clients to measure,
analyze and improve resource management. Come join the Ecova family… together we can Make a World of Difference.
 Partner with Human Resources regarding all aspects of staffing and workforce planning,
development of staff, evaluating performance, staff development, and recommending salary
adjustments. Responsible for decisions around hiring and disciplinary actions up to and including
termination.
Role Competencies
 A bachelor’s degree in business administration, accounting, finance or related degree required.
 Minimum 3-5 years of supervisory and/or management experience
 Demonstrated initiative in identifying as necessary, new processes or procedures and fostering a
continuous process improvement culture.
 Experience working in, or with, utility customer service teams to establish new accounts is a
significant plus.
 Proven knowledge of utilities and their account management processes is a significant plus
 Excellent communication (written and oral) and interpersonal skills.
 Highly collaborative work style.
 Must demonstrate high integrity and strong leadership principles.
 Must be detailed oriented and have the ability to organize and prioritize multiple tasks and
workflow.
 Excellent time management and organizational skills.
 Must have strong computer skills, including intermediate level aptitude in Word, Excel, Access,
Outlook and Internet.
 Other combinations of education/experience may be considered.

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By Bryan Barney

Please support our fine nonprofit!
Help us with a small deposit.
(Why are we rhyming in phrases so terse?
Grist’s been cursed by verse!)

Rodolfo Dirzo. (Photo by Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service.)

If you think all ecologists are focused on the gloom and doom of climate change, think again. Some of them have even bigger things on their minds.

“I think that, given time and political will and political savviness, we might be able to fix the climate change situation,” says Rodolfo Dirzo, the Bing Professor in Ecology at Stanford University, where he also serves as the director of the Center for Latin American Studies. “But biological extinction is not a reversible thing. To me — and I know that this might be controversial — I think that biological extinction is the most dramatic global environmental change that characterizes the Anthropocene.”

I met Dirzo while preparing for my first class at Stanford: Field Ecology and Conservation. We were organizing the materials for experiments that we would be performing in Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve, the northernmost tropical rainforest in the Americas, located in Veracruz, Mexico. Dirzo, many years prior to his arrival at Stanford, was the director of research at the reserve. His observations there have led him to study not only the effects of deforestation, but his new line of thinking around “defaunation,” or how the loss of medium and large animals have restructures the forest understory, and ultimately shape a whole tropical ecosystem.

“Go to Los Tuxtlas and you walk in this amazing forest — it looks so lush and green and exuberant,” he says. “We don’t really see what is happening to the animals, unless you begin to really carefully start monitoring.”

In this interview, we talk about the rise of “rodentation,” the ecological version of “the living dead,” and the ethical implications of wiping out the results of 3.5 billion years of evolution.

Free MP3. (Right click, select “Save Link As.”)

This interview is part of the Generation Anthropocene project, in which Stanford students partake in an inter-generational dialogue with scholars about living in an age when humans have become a major force shaping our world.

Filed under: Animals, Article, Climate & Energy

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By Douglas Gayeton

Editor’s note: If you liked the series of photos we featured from the Lexicon of Sustainability this winter, you might enjoy this video — which is one of three currently running on PBS.org.

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Filed under: Article, Food, Sustainable Farming, Sustainable Food

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