SI Online
Posted: July 31, 2008
Scum of the Earth. Or, potential jet fuel?
A new look at algae and everything else at the...
Green Industrial Business
& Career Expo
October 10, 2008
Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center
& the Westin Hotel in Seattle
7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
The Greater Pacific Northwest is emerging as a growing hub for the world’s most valuable commodity – energy.
From the skyrocketing economic and geopolitical value of oil and natural gas in Alaska and Alberta, to the growing cluster of alternative energy companies in Vancouver, B.C., to the greener airplanes, trucks and boats now under production in greater Seattle, to the genius and creativity driving world-class innovations throughout the region, the Green Economy is here like a new breed of Douglas Fir, impacting pocketbooks, shaping our futures and challenging existing public policies and perceptions.
All of this activity will be the focus of the first-ever Green Industrial Business and Career Expo on October 10, 2008, at the Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center in Georgetown.
The Expo will highlight:
- industrial business and career opportunities now being created by greener products and processes;
- the amazing developments taking place in renewable energy involving algae, geothermal, solar, wind and tidal resources;
- industrial innovations to reduce seaport diesel emissions;
- energy-related education and workforce needs and opportunities, and
- tips about ways that industrial firms can save energy while reducing carbon footprints.
Applications are now being accepted from potential exhibitors or cosponsors. The Expo will help exhibitors:
- showcase their products and services to industrial business owners and public agency managers responsible for promoting energy efficiencies to private firms;
- help educators learn the workforce need of companies that design, make and maintain greener products, technologies and power systems, along with training pathways for the “green” workforce;
- network with elected leaders, community leaders and other companies engaged in different aspects of the Green Economy.
Exhibitors so far include The Boeing Company, displaying its green innovations in aircraft manufacturing; Paccar, an international leader in developing hybrid and LNG trucks, and the Chena Hot Springs Resort, site of a highly innovative geothermal electrical generating system that suggests geothermal is a viable alternative energy resource in many parts of the world – including our own.
The Puget Sound Industrial Excellence Center is a new $20 million facility on the Georgetown campus of South Seattle Community College. PSIEC is an outstanding location for the Expo because it is committed to meeting workforce needs related to green technologies and it possesses a strong link to related technical and science programs offered at South Seattle Community College and throughout the Seattle Community College District.
The Expo will conclude with a reception and banquet at the Westin Hotel sponsored by the Canada America Society (CAS). The reception will feature Bernie Karl of the Chena Hot Springs Resort. CAS is an ideal co-host because of the many connections that link Washington state with British Columbia and Alberta, and the role of Canadian firms in helping Paccar build greener trucks and Foss Maritime to build greener tugboats.
The Expo is sponsored by a growing coalition of business and environmental groups with that share goals for renewable energy resources and the need for new programs to introduce young people to “green collar” career opportunities. For more information about sponsorships, exhibits or attendance at the Expo, call Dave Gering at the Manufacturing Industrial Council of Seattle at 206-762-2470.
