Green lights

Illustration: Scott Wooledge

These days, environmental jobs don’t just mean pounding the pavement for Greenpeace (although that is an admirable, and much-needed, role). Eco-related work opportunities abound in various sectors, including law, architecture, travel, wellness and beauty, and energy.

“With all the challenges facing us today—global warming, water and energy conservation, renewable energy, transportation alternatives—there will be a need for people who can help make a significant impact on improving the environment,” says Amy Bush, program administrator in the Office of Career Management at NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

This fall the school will be offering its first-ever Green Careers seminar, a one-day affair that takes place on October 25 (for details, visit scps.nyu.edu).

“The idea for this course came out of a brainstorming session on new topic areas in the career planning and development field,” says Bush. “With increased interest in ecological sustainability, our team thought this might make a valuable topic to explore.”

Among its other offerings are two courses that will help you grasp the evironmental big picture. The Global Energy Crisis, a one-day seminar (Sept 27), gets to the bottom of the world’s energy woes. If you’re looking for something more in-depth, The Global Natural Resources Challenge is a ten-week course that covers just about every resource issue under the sun.

Thinking about greening your career? Below is a roundup of some of the other eco-themed courses and seminars taking place this fall.

Eco-architecture

A number of architecture and design schools in the city offer green-themed courses for architects, engineers, city planners and their ilk. Cooper Union (212-353-4195, www.cooper.edu/ce) offers several courses as part of its Green Building Design program. The Ecological City examines the big picture, giving professionals an opportunity to learn about eco-friendly approaches to planning and building design, while Retrofitting Green is geared toward developers and apartment owners looking to make existing buildings more energy efficient by using solar power and incorporating sustainable design.

Pratt (212-647-7199, pratt.edu/prostudies) will be offering Building Green: An Overview. The one-day session (Sept 14) provides you with all the basics, including an answer to the question: Why build green? Another class, This Hazardous House, helps students understand touchy subjects like Sick Building Syndrome, chemical sensitivity, asthma and infestation risks.

Anatomy of a Brownstone: Greening your House and Living Sustainably, a one-day seminar, at New York City College of Technology (718-260-5000, www.citytech.cuny.edu) will feature a houseful of experts on hand to educate you about making your home a greener place to be by lowering energy costs and reducing your carbon footprint.

If you are a nuts-and-bolts kind of person, perhaps Pratt’s Building Green ’Round the World is more your thing. This one-day seminar (Oct 5) will survey the eco-building movement by focusing on green development projects like a solar village in Germany, sustainable forestry in Iowa, an ecological park in Mexico and more.

Sustainable design

Parsons The New School for Design (212-229-8900, parsons.newschool.edu/continuing_ed) is offering Materialogical, a course for designers and others interested in design. Over 12 weeks, it will give an overview of the latest in environmentally conscious design, introducing students to a variety of ecologically sound materials for use in areas such as fashion, graphics, packaging and interiors.

The NY Designs Incubator at LaGuardia Community College (718-663-8403, ace.laguardia.edu, nydesigns.org) will be getting in on the eco-action with Green Materials for Fashion, Products and Buildings and Green Product Design. These one-day sessions are aimed at designers interested in creating a more environmentally friendly world. Students will learn what makes a material sustainable and what makes something green—for example, its origins, environmental impact and recycling capabilities. Also sponsored by NY Designs, the half-day NY Designs Green Forum (Sept 17) brings together industry leaders to discuss different aspects of sustainability and design.

Environmentally friendly food

The New School for General Studies (212-229-5600, newschool.edu/generalstudies) has recently launched a series of courses and programs in food studies that have an environmental bent. “We want to look at the intersection of food, politics, science, economics, environmental impact, culture and history,” says Almaz Zelleke, the program coordinator. An intensive one-day seminar, Greening Your Food Business (Oct 25), will cover the big and small steps people in the industry can take to make their endeavors more environmentally friendly. Food Policy for the Local Food Revolution offers a comprehensive look into ecologically and socially sustainable alternatives to industrial farm practices. A six-week course, Topics in Food Policy: Global Food Crisis, examines the current (messy) state of affairs with a nod toward possible solutions.

Spread the word!

Forget about greenwashing! An eight-week course at NYU-SCPS, Sustainable Development Marketing, focuses on the three Ps: people, planet and profit. Learn how to devise marketing and branding campaigns that emphasize sustainable development.