Green-collar Jobs Act: Is Ohio ready?
Marc Lefkowitz | 08/02/07 @ 3:12pm
Part of the energy package currently being considered in Congress includes the Green Jobs Act 2007, which seeks $120 million a year to begin training workers for jobs in the clean-energy sector. Introduced by U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (D.-Calif.) and U.S. Rep. John Tierney (D.-Mass.), the goal is for 35,000 people a year to benefit from vocational education to work on solar panels and wind turbines, weatherizing homes and other buildings or creating biofuels.
Environmental publication Grist reports:
Lofty as that sounds, the Green Jobs Act is responding smartly to an important, practical need. To beat global warming and meet the energy challenges of the future, the United States will need hundreds of thousands of green-collar workers…And most of these jobs simply cannot be outsourced to other countries. The millions and millions of buildings that need to be retrofitted to save more energy cannot be shipped over to China.
The recent American Solar Energy Society’s renewable energy jobs report predicts growth in sustainable business sector in the U.S. to reach $4.5 trillion. Ohio could expect to reap 1 to 2 million new renewables and energy efficiency jobs totaling $98-$220 billion in revenues.
Aggressive state policy—the kind seen in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California—could grease the treads in Ohio. In other words, when Ohio finally decides on an advanced energy policy or deregulation reform that includes a Renewable Portfolio Standard, it will be in a good position to reach the high end of the green jobs projection when federal funds are approved.
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