Graduates With Their Environmental Master Degrees From Online Course Programs Enter Green Technologies Careers
Water conservation and alternative energy aren’t only common 21st century phrases. People are more often making environmentally-friendly methods and materials a part of their everyday lives. Concerns about the environment can be seen in hybrid and electric vehicles and at residences and businesses that more often rely on solar power, as well as rain barrels for collecting water to irrigate foliage that themselves require less water and shade the right places.
Choosing an online degree program can be one way that students who are concerned about the environment can cut down on their carbon emissions. Since they don’t have to drive to classes, they can help the environment on a day-to-day basis. However, those looking to take this passion one step further can consider a technology degree, many of which are taking on a sustainability focus.
At Rainy River Community College in Minnesota, for example, an associate degree program in Green and Sustainable Construction Technology offers students opportunities to learn how technologies can decrease a building’s waste and increase its efficiency when it comes to energy and water resources. New York City College of Technology offers a Sustainable Technology certificate program where students can analyze the life cycle costs of new high-tech materials, alternative energy systems and new construction methods. Central Carolina Community College this year is planning a new associate’s degree in Sustainable Technology, with focuses on alternative energy and green building.
The National Center for Appropriate Technology is a private, non-profit organization that works to promote sustainable technology systems, particularly those in energy and agriculture. The center hosts workshops and events and counts a University of Idaho Biodiesel Fuel Education program as well as Salish Kootenai College in Montana among its partners. Oregon Institute of Technology in 2009 changed its Environmental Sciences bachelor’s degree program to a new Environmental Sciences/Sustainable Technology program, where students take courses in renewable energy engineering, mechanical engineering technologies, civil engineering and business management, an article in The Oregonian noted.
Courses in sustainable technologies might provide students a competitive advantage in workplace environments that are more often taking concerns about the environment into account. They’re also intended to help students meet the growing demands of companies that work with environmentally-friendly systems, according to the New York City College of Technology websites. The Nantucket, Mass., area recently made news as a result of one of these systems when The Boston Globe reported on an alternative “Cape Wind” energy project that officials in the region approved.
The Cape Wind initiative is intended to bring 130 wind turbines to the coast, creating many jobs and helping the state become a pioneer in employing clean, green technology to procure energy, according to the Boston Globe. Many opponents to the project felt that it would disturb the views from Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Others contended the move could help promote green energy and hopefully enhance the environment by helping to decrease reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and oil that release harmful gases into the environment.
The campuses of colleges, universities and technical schools also are becoming more “clean and green.” An annual report released in June by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability noted that some 166 green campus structures either opened or received environmental awards and certifications. By May 2011, Northern California’s Butte College expects to become the only institution in the country to produce more solar power than it uses, according to a recent announcement from the institution.
With sustainable technology degrees, students might embark on careers as renewable energy or biofuels technicians, green building supervisors or sustainability consultants, Central Carolina Community College notes. Those who have already obtained technology degrees might consider taking individual courses as a means of keeping up to date on new developments, including those related to sustainability and the environment.
New students, as well as working adults, might particularly find earning their environmental management degree online appeals in that studies can be scheduled between work and family responsibilities. What online education programs do is help the student put their focus on education while leaving commute time and fuel, as well as other ‘harmful’ factors, out of the equation.
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