Green Sector Creates 50% of New Jobs!

...in Ireland.

This is great news for the people of Ireland. But we need to create those jobs in the US too. In Ireland, a country of four million, 10,000 "green" jobs were created in the last three months in organic farming, energy efficient construction, electric cars, and other green industries. With US GDP falling by 1.6% in the first quarter of 2009 we need more action and investment from our government and the private sector. Passing effective climate and energy legislation this year will increase both public and private investment in a clean energy economy, creating new jobs and lifting America out of the recession.

The Waxman-Markey Act recently introduced in the House could be the right start, but it currently falls far short of what we need. An analysis by the Breakthrough Institute found that of the $1 trillion in cap and trade revenue between 2012-2025, only $9 billion a year will be invested in clean technology. "This $9 billion is far less than what Obama promised ($15 billion) and far less than the $30 billion that three dozen energy scientists and experts, including several Nobel laureates, called for in a sign-on letter during the fall of 2007."

Strong climate legislation will also encourage investment from the private sector, giving American businesses the opportunity to compete in a global economy. Currently, only 6 of the top 30 companies in solar, wind, and advanced batteries are US companies. We can do better. The recession is the perfect opportunity for forward-thinking businesses to invest and put America back on the path to prosperity. Let's hope we can print headlines here, like the one above, very soon.

This entry is cross-posted at grist.org.

Comments

[ThoughtfulTom]

Not even counting the low intellectual quality of the posts, I am most concerned at the small number of comments.

While the fact that "green" jobs pay more, and last longer, is not in dispute, the real benefit is saving Americans money and stopping the flow of American dollars to fund overseas bad agents.

I fail to see how any patriot can be against renewable energy, even if (horrors) it costs more (in the short term). What costs more, now and later, is to continue to fund terrorists with American money.

And that lets alone the very substantial arguments about global warming and human health degradation that is part and parcel of using fossil fuel.

I sincerely hope we as a country care enough to start solving this issue. We know how, we just have to do it.

Tom

[Rhetticent]

Well, Tom, maybe it's because after we looked at the post, we found out what was omitted from the headline. "in Ireland". 10,000 jobs, supposedly, in Ireland, as announced by research performed by the Ireland Green Party, which is no doubt a completely objective source.

[research]

It's well accepted that green energy result in more middle class jobs that the average investment.

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/503/renewable-energy.pdf

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=loe&q=rooftop+solar+job+creation++jobs+per+dollar&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[research]

a trillion dollars in rooftop solar could get use 130 GW average at 3-6 cents per KWH, saving us over two trillion dollars over the next 30 years while completely paying back it cost. and that's assuming no increase in electrical rates over 30 years. see my profile for details.

We could replace half of our coal plants with this.

[prosha]

Get real, rooftop solar is more like 40 cents per kwh all in, it would be very bad. Save the money for solar until it makes economic sense, please.

[research]

at 2$ per peak watt installed, a number that NanoSolar claims and others for large commercial rooftop installation, is 3 cents per KWH over 30 years.

Do the Math,

read my profile, it's all there.

Denial is not an argument.

[prosha]

I know someone who installed a large system in Napa Valley. After 2 years of operation he knows each watt installed will make 41 kwh in 30 years, or 1.37 kwh per year, at a price of 15 cents per kwh that's worth only 21 cents per year. With the $8 per watt having to be paid in year one, you're getting a return of 2.5 % on the invested money, not very good, and you don't get your principal back in 30 years like you would with a bond. The inverters have a twelve year estimated life and have to be replaced and the panels lose one percent per year of output and won't last forever either. Your claim that it costs so little ignores the present value of the expense v the benefit. We'd be much better off to invest the money in something else until solar pv truly makes economic sense. Use the cheap energy first.

[research]

I know some folks...

Who?

You can always find a bad example.

Go to my profile, I prove everything I say.

2.5% is better than most people are getting on "conservative" investment.

Electrical cost will go up, but not for people who bought Solar.

You can get installed home solar for 6% per watt installed, so 8$ per watt is not very good.

Even so, it marginally profitable, as your own calculation show.

Traditional energy is going up in price, add inflation to that.

You proved my point.

[JnrNorman]

We have 10% green 90%chemical
Obama is giving us more coal plants.
More corn subsidies with petrol fertilizer and petrol pesticides.
Tom Vilsack (MONSANTO GMO SEED LAWS)
Obama wants more GMO crops crammed down farmers throats.

Obama's Agriculture Secretary supports GMO crops, big agraDec 17, 2008 ... Obama's Agriculture Secretary supports GMO crops, big agra .... any clear thinking person actually believe that Obama has any more say so on ...
www.infowars.com/obamas-agriculture-secretary-supports-gmo-crops-big-agra

[2morrowKnight]

Thanks for your post Billy. I can't wait for the "Green Jobs" revolution to take the U.S. by storm.

[BeeOplentee]

"Green" jobs will be the ones turned down by workers at McDonald's. The pay will stink.

[plantguy]

Will create more job loss than new jobs and alot of green jobs are not long term.

[JnrNorman]

Sending power by microwaves or Magnetic Pulses is a bad idea.
Electricity from solar panels can separate water into
hydroxy gas, MONATOMIC HHO (the new propane)
It can be burned in propane apliances or cars and trucks.
You can store solar power in existing propane tanks.

[JnrNorman]

HEMP MEDIAN STRIPS NOW!
A real green sector.
Power our trains on hempdiesel now.
Hemp the most efficient plant on the planet.
8x more btus than corn
8x more biodiesel than soy or canola

[Overtone]

Rebirth of the Auto Industry! Cars Can Become Power Plants When Parked!

Revolutionary breakthroughs will make possible a Self Powered Internal Combustion Engine - SPICE™.

A SPICE can be used to power a hybrid. It needs no fuel and will end the need to plug-in, as the engine can run when parked and wirelessly transmit and sell power to the local utility.

The SPICE is powered by hydrinos. One barrel of water can equal several hundred barrels of oil. To learn more about SPICE and hydrinos see: www.chavaenergy.com Look under the heading HOW?

A second breakthrough is the MagGen™. These magnetic generators, without moving parts, will replace batteries in electric cars, trucks and buses.

Scientist and engineers will doubt these technologies are possible until they have been validated by Independent Laboratories. That is an important step on the agenda.

Until now, car ownership has been an expense. Payments to car owner’s driving a hybrid with a SPICE, or powered by MagGen, are likely to be substantial.

When vehicles selling power to the grid fill a parking garage, it will have become a multi-megawatt power plant.

The cost of many vehicles might be paid for by utilities, as they purchase power whenever needed.

The parked cars each become decentralized power plants - a rapid, cost-effective path to a rebirth of the automobile industry.

This can create millions of green jobs!

And an end to the need for new nuclear or coal plants.

[research]

IEEE Spectrum magazine listed Blacklight as a "loser" technology in its 2009 report because "Most experts don’t believe such lower states exist, and they say the experiments don’t present convincing evidence."[3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacklight_Power