Resource Center

Instructions

The Resource Center is a curated collection of information organized around 7 green economy “Sectors” and 7 “Topics.” In time, more Sectors will be added. Topics represent those areas in which educators and workforce development professionals continue to seek direction.

You can search by sector or by topic. Or across all sectors and/or all topics.

You can also perform a keyword search of all resources on the top right of this page.

Overview

Solar

The solar industry is expected to show steady growth over the coming decade largely due to rising energy prices, advances in technology through public/private partnerships and investments, and continued enactment of federal and state policies and financial incentives. more >>

Wind

Wind power is considered a leading source of new electricity generation in the United States, with the potential of providing 20% of the nation’s energy needs by 2030. more >>

Green Building

The green building market has expanded five fold over the last three years to a $48 billion national market—and is projected to triple in the next five years. more >>

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is considered the foundation of a vibrant and sustainable green economy, and one of the most cost effective ways to lower energy consumption, reduce operating costs, and mitigate carbon emissions. more >>

Sustainability Education

Sustainability education refers generally to learning experiences that enable students to develop the knowledge, behaviors and skills to help create healthier ecosystems, social systems, and economies. For the purposes of the SEED Center, this includes resources to help build non-credit continuing education for the incumbent workforce and integrating sustainability curriculum into existing credit programs. more >>

Sustainable Ag., Food & Land

The Sustainable Ag., Food & Land sector covers the areas of organic farming, horticulture, culinary art, and landscaping. This sector includes organizations and resources that integrate environmental, social and economic factors into land use, food preparation, and land specific practices in an attempt to create a more sustainable future. more >>

General Clean Tech

The General Clean Tech sector is a space for resources that encompass multiple ‘green’ sectors. Many are applicable to the broader clean economy and sustainability-related technology and will serve the general clean tech community. Resources also provide valuable information on sectors that are experiencing substantive development in the sustainability realm, like manufacturing and smart grid. more >>

Transportation and Fuels

The Transportation & Fuels sector covers the area of electric and hybrid vehicle development and maintenance, other forms of alternative and sustainable transportation, natural gas, fuel cells, battery storage, and renewable fuels sources including ethanol, biodiesel, algae, and methane. more >>

Certifications and Industry Credentials

Certainly, one of the biggest challenges facing green educators is the rapid and mostly uncoordinated emergence of green certifications and credentials. more >>

Curricular Materials

These resources and materials have been vetted by industry and education experts, and while not in the form of specific educator tools, will assist in creating quality curricula for your classroom. more >>

You will find more specific educator tools (e.g. syllabi, lab manuals, lesson plans, special classroom projects, equipment lists, etc.) submitted by SEED member colleges in our Curricular Materials Sharing Portal.

Employment Industry Projections

While job training providers have been quite active in past years working with local industry to define the emerging green jobs market and potential job growth areas, most still struggle to forecast accurately regional occupational demand. The U.S. Department of Labor has made recent strides toward classifying green occupations and competencies which will help communities define and track green jobs (and colleges to design appropriate education and training programs). Given the uncertain renewable energy and efficiency industry outlook, and rapidly changing technologies, access to the most up-to-date industry studies and employment projections will be critical. more >>

Innovative Practices & Partnerships

The job creation potential of the green economy has led to some unique job training and economic development partnerships and collaborations. more >>

Professional Development Resources

This section includes promising facilitated learning opportunities, including “train the trainer” programs, standing conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice for faculty and staff seeking to further their knowledge of industry trends and requirements. more >>

Policy & Funding Sources

Included you will find links and descriptions of agencies and organizations that typically fund sustainability and green job training initiatives as well as those that provide important information on national legislation and policies relevant to the clean energy sector. CHECK BACK AS MORE ARE ADDED. This section also highlights resources that provide guidance on how to supply input into program and grant design for certain agency solicitations. more >>

Skill sets, Competencies & Career Pathways

This section includes lists and assessments of skill sets and competencies tied to the green economy – across the broad industry as well as within specific sectors. It also includes some critical resources that colleges can use to align programs and facilitate student transitions. Included are green energy competency models and newly-developed career pathways that allow movement across educational and training programs. more >>

Sector:

Topic:

Propane & Natural Gas for Transportation - 2011 (CTEP)

Presented at De Anza College in Cupertino, California on January 23, 2011, this presentation covers what propane is and where it comes from, its benefits and properties, vehicle technology, vehicle choices, fueling infrastructure, safety, and resources and incentives. The Clean Transportation Education Project (CTEP) was an initiative that delivered 36 workshops across the United States in 4 subject areas: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Natural Gas and Propane, Fuel Economy/Idle Reduction (Including Electric & Hybrid Vehicles). These resources have been reviewed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and are in the public domain for use by educators in this field.

Regulatory Horizon for On-Highway Trucks & Non-Road Equipment - 2010 (CTEP)

Presented in Louisville, Kentucky on June 3, 2010 and covers regulatory trends for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emmisions. It also discusses benefits and future challenges of regulation. The Clean Transportation Education Project (CTEP) was an initiative that delivered 36 workshops across the United States in 4 subject areas: Biodiesel, Ethanol, Natural Gas and Propane, Fuel Economy/Idle Reduction (Including Electric & Hybrid Vehicles). These resources have been reviewed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and are in the public domain for use by educators in this field.

Report - 2011 U.S. Billion-Ton Update: Biomass Supply for a Bioenergy and Bioproducts Industry

The report examines the nation’s capacity to produce a billion dry tons of biomass resources annually for energy uses without impacting other vital U.S. farm and forest products, such as food, feed, and fiber crops. The study provides industry, policymakers, and the agricultural community with county-level data and includes analyses of current U.S. feedstock capacity and the potential for growth in crops and agricultural products for clean energy applications.

Report - State of the States: Fuel Cells in America

This report looks at projections regarding fuel cells, activities in states and policy and industry implications.

Report (US Government Accounting Office) - Biofuels: Potential Effects and Challenges of Required Increases in Production and Use

This report provides an overview of what is occurring the industries of biofuels and what policies could help the industries move forward. It includes the environmental impacts of biofuel production, a look at cellulosic ethanol and comments from multiple federal agencies.

Topic Specific Environmental Reference Guides

Reference guides developed by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) Library staff to help identify resources that will help you get started with research both on the Internet and in your local library. There are a variety of topics covered in these reference guides including: alternative fuels, environmental education, green business, funding topics, and green libraries.

Transportation and Climate Change Resource Center: State by State Interactive Map

This interactive map of the United States contains state-by-state links to documents, powerpoints, and other information on state DOT climate change and energy activities. It includes reports, policies, plans, and research sponsored by the designated state DOT or part of a collaborative effort that involves the state DOT and can be used to enhance the policy side of an educator's curriculum.

U.S. Department of Agriculture's Homepage for Sustainable Agriculture

This site contains a wide variety of information from the USDA on sustainable agriculture and biofuels, from technical information to materials for educators and consumers to economic development for farming communities to grant information.

US EPA - Renewable and Alternative Fuels

These materials can be used in the classroom to explore the topics of alternative fuel station locations, alternative fuels data center, fleet efficiency, and the renewable fuels national standards.

DOE EERE: Vehicle Technologies Program

This site provides information on the development of energy efficient and environmentally friendly advanced highway transportation technologies, including publications and technical information, hybrid vehicle technology information, statistical research on energy use, economics, and trends in transportation, web sites of organizations working to advance transportation and fuel technologies, and definitions for words that may be new to people with limited background on advanced vehicle technologies. View their Resources page. These materials could be valuable to an educator building or updating their curricula.

Displaying results 21-30 (of 30)

|< < 1 - 2 - 3 > >|

Connect

Sign-in/Register

Additional Partner Resources