Greening the Census

Dana here.  This past summer, I worked part-time as an Enumerator with the US Census Bureau.  I was excited about it, because, as you all know, I'm a history nerd.  In my role as a genealogist, I have used old census records innumerable times, and they are a very important tool.  I wanted to take my place in history as the person who carefully documented the population and people of Buffalo in the year 2010. 

The actual experience of working as an Enumerator was a bit different than I expected...dealing with an organization as large as the Census Bureau comes with its headaches and red tape.  Lots of things need to be improved for the next go-round: complete computerization, prevention of waste, streamlining of training and operations, etc. etc.  For anyone else out there who worked for, or interacted with, the Census Bureau in 2010, I'm sure you agree.  It was not, in any way, a "green" operation.  In fact, sometimes I was rather embarrassed because of my eco-friendly views, to be representing an organization that just didn't have its eco-act together.

So, I decided when I was completely finished with all assignments, to write a report on my experiences, and those of my colleagues and the public with whom I interacted.  The result is my "Green the Census" report and proposal, found in its entirety here.  It calls for a Presidential Commission to investigate ways to improve the census experience, cut waste, save money and time, and improve the public perception.  Feel free to read through it, and come back here to the blog to leave me YOUR comments, experiences, and stories.  All of these will help strengthen the case and the urgency to make serious changes for 2020.  Thanks!