As the economy sheds jobs, community colleges across the country are reporting a surge of unemployed workers enrolling in courses that offer training for "green-collar" jobs. Full Story »
Posted by Derek Hawkins
Billions of dollars are dedicated to job retraining unemployed workers, there is a screaming need/benefit to the nation's efficiency, but all is in flux (new products, companies, consumer reticence) so there is uncertainty about how high this plan might fly. There are numerous quotes from "on-the-ground" individuals, a few experts, and no comprehensive analysis of the big picture. The link "Stimulus plan provides boost to green jobs" is a valuable overview of green jobs by Van Jones.
“We have a Saudi Arabia of renewable energy in our country: solar, wind, smart biofuels, geothermal,” said Jones. “We know that renewable energy jobs across the country will be coming on line with more force. That includes solar energy in the Sunbelt, wind energy production in the Plains states and off our coast, smart biofuels in the Southeast and the Midwest, and geothermal everywhere.”
For a vision this grand, mobilization on the scale of WWII would be in order.
Critics contend that The Big Bad Energy Interests have successfully diluted the energy act so green is a pale hue.