By Gloria Ware
The U.S. economy lost 250,000 jobs in October, more than 500,000 jobs were lost in November and looming large for 2009 is the threat of another three million jobs disappearing if the Big Three automakers fail to get financing. President-Elect Barack Obama recently warned that the situation would continue to deteriorate in the next year. What is a nation to do? Will Obama’s commitment to make the U.S. a leader in climate change have to be put on the back burner given the weakened and pathetic state of our nation’s economy? No. President-Elect Obama has cleverly woven environmental initiatives into his plan to get our country in the black as part of his recently announced stimulus package. In fact, his campaign commitment to the creation of five million new green jobs was almost prescient, given our current dire state of affairs. The plan is to aggressively implement the change we need to shore up our finances and our environment through the implementation of a major public works initiative to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure using sustainable construction practices. He will also leverage the current crisis in the automotive industry by demanding more energy efficient vehicles. His aggressive goals include increasing the use of alternative energy in this country by 2012.
Infrastructure and Buildings
Tragically, we were all rudely awakened to the fragile state of our nations’ crumbling bridges and roads on August 1, 2007 when the I-35 Mississippi Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the murky river, claiming the lives of 13 individuals. This spurred inspectors and engineers around the country to perform structural evaluations on area bridges and many were found to be in dangerous condition. Sadly, most governments, already suffering from rising energy and healthcare costs and declining sales and property tax revenues, lack the funds to make proper and timely repairs on these time bombs. A national infrastructure stimulus would provide the funding to make the necessary repairs, while providing jobs and safer transportation for local populations.
Buildings contribute to 40 percent of the country’s greenhouse gases, primarily due to the amount of energy required to keep them warm or cool, provide light for commercial or consumer use and general maintenance. The U.S. government spends over $40 billion dollars itself on energy for its buildings. There are numerous opportunities to employ Americans to retrofit older buildings, including many of the decrepit schools in our urban areas, to be safer and more energy efficient. As new construction projects are planned, there is a strong sense that there will be state and federal mandates to meet green building standards, as is currently the case in California. The buck doesn’t stop with government structures; Obama plans to weatherize one million low income homes each year for the next decade.
Contractors—start your engines. If you don’t know what LEED means or what the US Green Building Council is, you need to call your trade association to educate yourself.
Transportation
With the auto industry being in a tailspin and a bailout imminent, talk of pre-conditions for receipt of temporary financing has involved discussions of completely restructuring the industry around energy efficient vehicles. For years the management team of the big three aggressively fought off legislation calling for more fuel efficient vehicles and instead pumped out and promoted powerful trucks and big cars that get seven miles per gallon, while Asians were gearing up for energy saving hybrid vehicles. Then came $4 per gallon gas, and thrifty-minded Americans abruptly stopped buying these gas-hogging behemoths. If President Elect Obama gets his way, the days of the beefy Hummer may be marked, as the new cool ride will be smaller, nimbler and will average 50 mpg. His goal is to have more than 1 million plug-in hybrid vehicles (150mpg) on the road by 2015. Looks like the automakers are going to have to be more amenable to the idea of building these cars. To offset the expense of this new mode of transportation, President-Elect Obama is proposing a $7,000 tax credit to owners.
Alternative Energy
CNN recently reported that jobs in the energy sector were still in high demand. That trend is expected to continue with Obama’s proposal to ensure that by the year 2012 10 percent of our electricity will be generated from renewable resources-solar, wind and geothermal, with progressively aggressive targets through 2025. Millions of manufacturing jobs can be created through the need to supply solar panels, wind turbines and parts and pipes for geothermal energy. In fact, some towns in the Midwest have already replaced lost manufacturing jobs with work in these fields. When oil magnet Warren Buffet starts promoting wind power, you know there is money to be made. Interested in learning more about training opportunities in your community? Check out the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council or your local community college.
Resources for Green Jobs
www.Greenforall.org
www.linkedIn.com
www.sustainablebusiness.com
www.greenbiz.com
www.Change.gov
www.alternativeenergy.com
www.environmentalcareer.com
www.jobs.grist.org
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