Commentary: Green Irene believes that small businesses will be the engine of the green economy. Most jobs created over the next few decades to make a transition to clean energy will be in small businesses. These businesses will help homes and businesses reduce energy use, install solar electric and heating systems, and provide eco-consulting services. Green Irene is a great example of that, with over 400 Eco-Consultants and counting across the United States. To learn more about how to become an Eco-Consultant, visit BeAGreenIrene. Green Irene Eco-Consultants are ready to help businesses Go GREEN.

As the United States debates how it should tackle climate change, “Big Business” has generally received the most political attention. Small companies are mostly disengaged from the climate debate, business advocates say, yet environmentally conscious, small enterprises could become influential supporters of climate legislation.

“Small business has to be a strong constituency if this legislation is going to be passed,” said Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California. “If we are going to create the innovation, we are going to create the jobs, we are going to reduce energy use, there needs to be a concerted focus on small business.”

World leaders will craft an international treaty to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change this December in Copenhagen, Denmark. Whether the United States can agree on climate change policy in the coming six months will heavily influence the outcome of the Copenhagen negotiations.

The Pew Charitable Trusts revealed last week that the U.S. clean energy economy – more than 68,000 companies that supply clean energy, energy efficiency, conservation strategies, and pollution mitigation technologies – created 770,385 jobs in 2007.

Many of these “green jobs” are small businesses, defined as an employer of 500 workers or less, according to The Center for Small Business and the Environment. In a report also released last week, the Center’s Executive Director Byron Kennard said that the 27 million small businesses in the United States, which produce 51 percent of private sector output, are turning to environmentally beneficial services in greater numbers.

“These are not tree hugger prophesies. These are real businesses, taking real risks, creating real jobs,” Kennard said. “Economically, politically, and socially as well, these green businesses are having a real impact.”

The U.S. House of Representatives is debating the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill that promises to reduce U.S. carbon emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050, compared to 2005 levels, through a national cap-and-trade system. In addition to placing a price on carbon, which would benefit low-carbon businesses, the legislation would increase energy efficiency standards, establish national mandates for renewable energy, and boost clean energy research.

The current version allows industrial polluters – businesses that emit more than 25,000 tons of carbon annually (such as large electric utilities, natural gas distributors, and cement producers) – to receive about 80 percent of the cap-and-trade system’s emission permits for free. The remaining would be auctioned, often to polluters. These funds are intended to assist consumers with higher energy costs, avoid deforestation in tropical countries, research clean-energy technologies, help developing countries adapt to climate change, and deploy clean energy-technologies worldwide.

The bill would also form a worker assistance and job training program, which supports reducing businesses’ dependency on fossil fuels. The program would be funded with roughly 0.5 percent of the permit auction funds. Commercial buildings would also be entitled to some of the legislation’s financial support for weatherization programs.

Scott Sklar, steering committee chair of the Sustainable Energy Coalition, a group of national and state-level business, environmental, consumer, and energy policy organizations that promotes increased federal support for energy efficiency and renewable energy, said the legislation’s benefits for small businesses are too small to provide meaningful support. He criticized the bill for prioritizing large industry instead.

“I don’t think any iterations of the [climate] bills I’ve seen so far support small businesses,” said Sklar, president of The Stella Group, a renewable energy marketing firm. “The allowances are given to big business polluters for the most part.”

California industries used similar arguments in an unsuccessful effort to derail the state’s cap-and-trade bill. Upon realizing that small business owners were likely to support the legislation if businesses could improve their energy efficiency, legislators responded with a small business toolkit. The program guides businesses on how to reduce their energy costs (and therefore greenhouse gas emissions) through voluntary efficiency gains.

“By small business stepping up to give the voice to our position, we were heard,” said Hauge, who helped pass the bill in 2006. “Big business was not aligned.”

Credit to the Worldwatch Institute.

You probably heard of Earth Hour, an international effort that took place last Saturday, March 28th to save energy and raise awareness about global warming. Earth Hour counted with the participation of millions of individuals, thousands of cities, and many governments committed to taking action on global warming. More than a gesture of energy-saving, Earth Hour was symbolic because it demonstrated a global will to enter a new future powered by energy efficiency, renewable energy, and more sustainable lifestyles. In effect, it showed a universal commitment by people to move human society towards sustainability.

Among the landmarks that participated in Earth Hour are:

• The Great Pyramids in Egypt
• The Acropolis in Athens, Greece
• The Empire State Building in New York, USA
• The UN headquarters in New York, USA
• The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Wembley Stadium in London, UK
• The Bird’s Nest Stadium, the Water Cube, Ling Long Tower and Pangu Plaza in Beijing, China
• The Oriental Pearl Tower and the 492m high Shanghai World Financial Center, in Shanghai, China
• The Reserve Bank of India, the Air India buildings, and Indian Tourism Development Corporation’s flagship Ashok Hotel, in India
• The World Bank in Washington D.C.
• Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Italy
• The Big Ben in London, U.K.

Beyond Earth Hour, we have to continue to show our commitment to combating global warming and moving towards a greener planet. Green Irene is here to help you achieve that goal beyond Earth Hour. Our Green Home Makeover and Green Office Makeover are affordable, high-quality services that can get you going on making energy conservation permanent, reducing your waste and water use, protecting human health by eliminating toxic substances, and much more. Green Irene’s greenbase is also ready to provide you with any information you need to help you Go GREEN, in addition to a full research team ready to answer any questions not answered by our greenbase. In addition, Green Irene carries products that can complement your Green Home or Office Makeover. We carry green products that will ensure that what our Local Eco-Consultants recommend can be implemented right away. Green Irene offers the best, national solution for you to continue your commitment to Earth Hour and move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. So, in honor of Earth Hour, why not continue your commitment today with Green Irene. Sign up today for our services and begin the process of Going GREEN.

To learn more about Earth Hour, see this video below:

To see pictures from around the world, click here.