Green-Collar Jobs?
Posted on April 18, 2008 | By Bluemountainmama | 5 Comments
That’s the future folks! From an article on MSN:
“Stronger focus on energy diversity and efficiency means more jobs: opportunities in sustainable energy sources like wind and solar, ethanol production, green building, hazardous waste removal, recycling and consumer goods; jobs in research and development, construction, manufacturing, technology, operations and sales.
Perhaps one of the greatest strides in this movement is the Green Jobs Act, part of the 2007 energy bill, which Congress passed and President Bush signed in late 2007.
“This innovative proposal – green-jobs – will make $125 million a year available across the country to begin training workers for jobs in the clean energy sector,” remarked Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., who co-wrote the Green Jobs Act. “Thirty-five thousand people per year can benefit from vocational education that will provide for them secure employment in this country.”
The availability of green-collar jobs will cross boards of workers at all skill levels, says Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance, which promotes clean energy and energy efficiency policies and initiatives. “Whether your field is technical, you’re a skilled or unskilled worker, you were laid off… the economic benefits from green jobs spread from the highly educated to the noneducated.”
This seems like a win/win situation to me. Coal acts as Chicken Little, decrying those that speak out against MTR, “They want to take your jobs away! It’s the end of the world!” What they fail to say is the jobs they provide are TEMPORARY…. and short-sighted, as coal is non-renewable. Once the mountain is gone and the coal is extracted, there are no more jobs in that area. Not even eco-tourism (b/c of the devastation left behind)…. one of the fastest growing tourism markets out there.
How could one argue with investing in Renewable Energy jobs? Sustainable jobs, that will be there long term? Not only are they safer, high-paying, and long-term jobs, but they don’t destroy the very land we are dependent on for survival. But…. AHA!.. that would mean Coal wouldn’t be King anymore. They wouldn’t have the monopoly in WV…. they wouldn’t be the Big Dogs making all the rules and tainting our politics. The powers that be might have to tighten their belt-buckles a little, just like your average American citizen these days.
Common sense, folks…. but again, that’s not something King Coal is known for. Profit and Greed tend to cloud judgment.
Our remnants of wilderness will yield bigger values to the nation’s character and health than they will to its pocketbook, and to destroy them will be to admit that the latter are the only values that interest us. – Aldo Leopold
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April 18th, 2008 @ 9:26 am
I’ve heard about the idea of green collar jobs before. I think it is a great idea, and I hope it comes to pass. Not only would it be good for the environment, it would certainly help the economy.
April 18th, 2008 @ 12:07 pm
Denny,
I have long been a advocate for green collar jobs, for exactly the same reasons you have pointed out in your post.
What scares me is the blatant push for coal and CTL going on now. For every penny that gasoline goes up, thats one step closer to getting widespread public support for CTL. I worry that politicans and their convoluted logic will paint CTL as one of these green collar occupations, and funnel even more money into the increasingly idiotic practice of a coal-based economy.
April 18th, 2008 @ 9:29 pm
Thanks Matthew but Blue wrote this post.
But I am going to comment – I get Google alerts for a few different search terms clean coal technology and coal to liquids being two of them – I get so many alerts each day for those two topics. 11 today that is the coal industry propaganda machine hard at work and unfortunately effective. It was like I said in a previous post – it doesn’t matter if it is true or not if you shout it in enough ears people will believe it because their neighbor heard the same thing.
April 19th, 2008 @ 10:50 am
Sorry about that Bluemountainmama. I guess when I read your post all I saw was red, and completely missed your name. Great post.
April 19th, 2008 @ 10:58 am
that’s okay, matt…. i don’t think any of us are writing for credit.