A Western Illinois University professor said more jobs in the green industry are opening up in Illinois because of the state’s natural resources and the global issues during a presentation on Tuesday.

John Gruidl, professor of economics at the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs (IIRA) of Western Illinois University, informed audience members about the changing job opportunities in the area of green technology during a presentation sponsored by the Lumpkin School of Business.

His speech was titled “Which Green Jobs Look Promising for Rural Illinois” and was part of the Global Entrepreneurship week.

Gruidl said this increase in entrepreneurship opportunities is because of the world issues that affect us locally, as well as globally, such as the lack of food, water depletion, global warming and the need for energy.

Gruidl said the green industry would help fix these problems.

In Illinois, the land is a full of natural resources and how the residents use those resources will be important later, he said.

Natural resources open up more opportunity for innovations in the green industry, he said.

Gruidl said these areas for innovations include energy efficiency, wind power, biofuels and local foods.

For example wind power has increased in the past years and the weather in Illinois offers good opportunities for wind power advancements.

The demand for energy efficient appliances, homes and buildings opens up the field to those who can create these things.

C.A.M.P.E.R.; substitute, combine, adapt, magnify, put to other uses, eliminate and rearrange.

This is one of the processes entrepreneurs go through to solve problems and make plans, he said.

During the presentation, Gruidl split the audience into seven teams.

The groups were tasked with using one of these methods to answer the question of “How can you reduce resource use in Lumpkin Hall?”

The groups each came up with ideas such as substitute artificial light with natural light and replacing textbooks with electronic books.

“Once they got into it, some of them enjoyed it and then they came up with some good ideas,” Gruidl said.

Gruidl said the activity was supposed to get the students to think creatively and to make them realize it is more than punching numbers and making phone calls.

“It (the activity) is important because using our creativity is so important in entrepreneurs,” Gruidl said. ” We don’t usually think of it that way though.”

Julie Rossberger, a junior family and consumer sciences major, said she learned a lot of interesting facts and the activity helped her think about things.

“It got me to think about things I don’t usually think about, like how Eastern is so green,” Rossberger said.

There is a wide range of advancements that can be made by entrepreneurs. They can find what materials make better fuels.

“Your biodiesel plant is one example of this,” Gruidl said. “I think EIU has got some good things going in terms of renewable energy.”

Angelica Cerceo-Jensen, a junior family and consumer sciences major, said she learned a lot.

“I learned, not only about Illinois being full of natural resources, but what Eastern is doing in this field,” Cerceo-Jensen said.

Gruidl said he hope he got students to think about the opportunities available in the green industry.

“It’s going to take time, but we are going to have a very different system of energy and maybe food production too,” Gruidl said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.