The research, conducted by Silicon Valley-based research firm Collaborative Economics, underscores California’s lead in the green economy and may indicate where other states can expect green job growth.

California’s jobs in green businesses accounted for less than 1% of jobs statewide in 2008, but employment in green businesses may be holding up better than in other sectors. According to the report, from January 2007 to January 2008, jobs in green businesses grew 5%, while total jobs in California fell 1%.

The green job growth puts California at the forefront of a wide range of technologies, and shows that regions are developing green job clusters off existing strengths. The San Francisco Bay Area leads in green energy generation, San Diego is strong in co-generation technologies, and the Los Angeles and Orange County regions excel in transportation.

Unlike California’s software and biotech industries, which are centered in a few clusters, green jobs are disbursed all around California. California’s green job sector is more than three times the size of its biotech and almost two-thirds the size of its software sector, according to the report.

I believe that green jobs in California are being fueled, in large part, by government policies encouraging energy efficiency and solar adoption. And though California’s unemployment rate is still high, the trend lines are up for green jobs. The green economy is even helping California with manufacturing jobs. They accounted for 21% of green jobs as of January 2008, while manufacturing accounted for 11% of the state’s jobs.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about green technology

For a city which is known for its emphasis on environmental awareness and responsibility, it makes sense that San Francisco is poised to be one of the first cities in the U.S. to ban the plastic bag. Considering that, according to Earthnews, ”the average use time for each bag is 12 minutes, [even though] the petroleum-based bags take hundreds of years to decompose in landfills” this move makes logical sense. A study published recently by the Save the Bay organization put the number of bags littered around the area at around 1 million, a number which is far from sustainable in the long term.

Obviously, getting rid of plastic bags altogether will take more than just a press release or a piece of legislation. I fully support both public and private funding for the distribution and advertising of a city-wide program that would put canvas shopping bags in the hands of every person in and around San Francisco. If we are able to inject the effort with some semblance of solidarity and community activism, I think the results could be truly groundbreaking.

Head over to “The Bay vs. The Bag” to support change in San Francisco.

[image via "how can i recycle this?"]

The business described in the article by Mickey Meece is basically a modified taxi service, but uses a fold-up scooter as the main element in the equation. Companies like Scooter Patrol of Sunset Beach, California, City Scoot in Louisville Kentucky, and Y Drive LA in Los Angeles, have developed for-profit business models designed on the platform of service and safety.

Once ordered, a designated driver arrives on a fold-up scooter, places it in the caller’s trunk, and drives the individual(s) home. When finished, the driver hops on the scooter and heads to the next destination. In many ways, it’s a smarter alternative to traditional taxi services as well, because people who utilize the service don’t need to worry about getting their vehicles the next day.

This is business model appeals to me because of its inherent aim of helping the community. Sure, these businesses are money-making entities, but whatever helps to keep the streets safe ends up being a positive force in any community. Furthermore, now that liquor has the legal right to advertise on television, both beer and liquor producers are signing on as sponsors for some of the services, providing much needed capital for the businesses to expand.

According to the Atlanta sober-scooter service, Zingo, “what this industry needs is a national brand.” Whatever that brand ends up being, rest assured the streets will be safer.

[image via Bixentro]

At a time when our country’s economy is struggling to find innovation and get consumers spending again, it’s these same small businesses that we need to rely upon to provide the necessary boost. In an attempt to remain open and continue serving as a valuable community resource, many of these centers have themselves needed to innovate, diversifying their funding efforts and looking for new ways to bring corporations and banks on board.

Given that there is little to no return on investment for providing such backing, these centers have to add value to these business relationships through other means. Whether that takes the form of branded sponsorship, shared community support (in the form of volunteering etc.), opensource collaboration or some other form, I think this could present a real opportunity to rethink the role of these centers not only within the business community, but the community at large as well.

[image via wonderlane]