The Greening of Southie

We’ve heard a lot recently about efforts to boost our sagging economy and retool our manufacturing industry with green-collar jobs. A green-collar job is a lot like a blue-collar job, except that workers incorporate the principles of sustainability and environmental stewardship. Eco-friendly development might sound like a contradiction because, for one thing, the EPA ranks construction as our country’s most wasteful industry. Yet efforts to green the building industry are underway, including in the working-class neighborhood of South Boston. The new documentary The Greening of Southie chronicles Boston’s first residential green building – the Macallen – and the workforce that set out to construct the “city of tomorrow, today.” The film’s director, Ian Cheney, joins Word of Mouth with more.

(Photo by Taylor Gentry)