Finding the employment you want is especially difficult in this job market, but you still have the choice to go green...
Regardless of your industry there are choices you can make during your job hunt to ensure you are setting yourself up for a greener career...
1. If you are uses an employment resource centre email the postings you are interested in to your personal account and save to a thumb drive to avoid wasting paper
2. Concentrate your search as close to home as possible. This will not only reduce your emissions while traveling to and from work, it will also decrease the hours your are setting aside for work each day. Working close to home keeps you more involved in your community, reduces the stress of traffic and travel time and ultimately will reduce the incidence of illness.
3. If your type of work does require you to travel a fair distance from your home consider public transit. As well you can check the company website for ride share programs and car pooling. There are also independent meet-up groups, and car pooling groups that you can tap into.
4. If you are starting a new job that requires you to travel by car to and from meetings at various locations you do not have to spring for a new hybrid vehicle to be green. If you can afford to buy or lease a new vehicle look at the newer small vehicles available. Many are great on gas and have very low emissions.
5. The single greatest way to positively (or negatively) impact the environment is through your diet. So whether you are job searching at community centres or starting a new job, find out if the place you eat uses local suppliers. An even better option: make your own. Purchase from your local grocer and the more vegetarian options you choose the less carbon emissions you are contributing globally. You do not have to completely cut out dairy and meat from your diet, but a reduced amount is not only good for your health and pocket book - it is also a great choice for the environment.
6. Believe it or not some businesses still do not have recycling and composting on-site. You can help out by starting a program at your new place of employment - or at the very least reduce the amount of waste you produce and bring your compostables home with you. Check out www.cathyscomposters.com for more information on how to get your company composting and paper recycling at the same time.
7. Many companies now have policies in place for fragrance-free environments. This is a perfect opportunity to switch your body care products to organic - fragrance free choices which reduces the chemical you are putting into your body via your skin, as well as what you are putting down your drains (and ultimately back into your taps). The water you wash away today is recycled (without the ability to remove the chemicals from body care products and cleaners) and used to irrigate farmers fields - thus being sprayed on your food. It is also recycled back into your taps for drinking and bathing. Cleaners that are eco-friendly will tell you that they are biodegradable and how long they take to biodegrade. DONT BE TRICKED! Look to mae sure they list how long it takes to biodegrade. Eventually all products will biodegrade - the question is - is it going to be 10 days or 10,000 years?
8. Naturally we should flow into the choice of water at this point... Buy your own stainless steel bottle and refill it from the tap as needed. If you do not lie the chlorinated taste of tap water there are several other choices out there. There are carbon filters available that attached to your water bottle so you can fill up at any tap removing chlorine and other odors. If you have a home water purification system you can pack enough for your day so you do not have to invest your money into the privatization and pollution of the bottling water industry.
9. Computers: if you are searching from home for your job or have a job working on a computer take the time to put the computer and related components on a surge-proof power bar. This will help keep your computer safe and at the end of the day when you are finished on the computer you can power down and turn the power bar off. This power bar acts as a circuit breaker. Without it the electronic devices are still drawing some power. Phantom electricity accounts for 15% of your electric bill. Other devices that continue to use electricity after you turn them OFF - televisions, DVD/VCR, stereo systems, I-Pod docking stations, video game consoles....Safe yourself some money and put digital electronics on a power bar.
10. Get a good nights sleep. If you sleep well, you will have the energy to make better decisions and to make a change that helps the sustainability of our society.