In addition to the recent attention that elevated it to the American mainstream, the Green Jobs Industry has been a developing field for the past few decades. Patrick Heffernan’s 1976 study Jobs for the Environment – The Coming Green Collar Revolution informed congress on the importance of environmental awareness in business and government. Alan Durning’s book Green Collar Jobs first introduced the term to America. Focusing on the post-logging towns of the Pacific Northwest, his work examines the shift from an economic dependence on the natural resources of the land to an awareness of environmental and ecological preservation. This opened the doors for the green collar industry and such fields as sustainable forestry, natural resource conservation, and ecological restoration. And, in 2006 Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes of San Francisco State University defines green collar jobs as “blue collar jobs in green businesses – that is, manual labor jobs in businesses whose products and services directly improve environmental quality,” finally offering a concrete definition of the term.

Today, with environmental awareness at an all-time high, we are seeing an increase in employment opportunities across the board. Scientists are needed to analyze, protect, and monitor the environment and society’s interaction with it. Builders and urban planners are needed to design and construct environmentally friendly neighborhoods, parks, recreation areas, and housing and commercial developments. The field of alternative and renewable energies have opened the doors to students of engineering, technicians, analysts, and environmental management looking to “green” their career paths.

The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) has stated that there are 8.5 million jobs in the solar energy field. Educators ranging from middle school earth science teachers to environmental biology professors are providing much needed instruction and preparation to an enthusiastic generation eager to repair the planet in the fields of environmental management, natural resource conservation, and forest preservation. Organic and sustainable farming, one of the oldest green professions, is still an ever growing field as people are becoming more aware of environmentally responsible farming practices.

So, even if your interests and education don’t involve years of study in agronomy or geology, water conservation or landscape architecture, you can still find a career that lets you “go green.” » Read more: Top 5 Green Careers – More People Pursuing Green Collar Jobs Out of College