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For job growth, make the next recovery a green one
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Lots of people are under the impression that fighting global warming is a luxurious boondoggle that we can indulge in when times are good, but that doesn’t fit with recession-era belt tightening. These are often the same people shouting “drill baby drill” at Sarah Palin rallies (sorry, I mean McCain rallies).
But rooting for an oil-driven economy over one fueled by alternative energy like solar and wind power is akin to rooting for the wagon and carriage makers and horse traders instead of the car manufacturers at the dawn of the last century. Sure, a case could be made for them, but one way or another that old industry had a finite lifespan. Meanwhile, the emerging industry had the potential to transform our infrastructure, landscape and economy.
Green investments can bolster the job market in ways we haven’t been able to in decades, with job creation at all levels, not just the upper end of the job market as was the case with the dotcom boom. Investments in these technologies, companies, and infrastructure can foster prosperity and a quicker recovery, rather than inhibit it, which high oil prices most certainly do. (I’m sure you’ve noticed your own prosperity inhibited lately by rising gas and heating costs.)
The Political Economy Research Institute recently issued a report that outlines a “green recovery.” It’s a plan to create “good jobs” by establishing a low-carbon economy.
It’s not far-fetched or even expensive. Mostly it requires our next president and Congress to not cave in to opportunistic fear mongering by Big Oil and to rally Americans behind this endeavor, not unlike the way Kennedy rallied us around the space program so many years ago (a move that reaped huge benefits for the defense and technology industries and our economy over all).
The “green economic recovery program” would spend $100 billion dollars in government money (plus private investment) over two years to create as many as 2 million jobs in six green areas: retrofitting buildings, expanding mass transit systems, overhauling electricity grids, solar and wind power and biofuel.
It might seem like a lot of money, but it’s about what George Bush spent sending all of us tax rebate checks to stimulate the economy last April (we can see how well that worked).
Moreoever, the jobs in these sectors would range from roofers, welders and electricians needed for the retrofitting and building. Truck driver for delivering things like solar panels and biofuels, research scientists to continue developing new technologies and support people like accountants lawyers who could wind up transitioning out of the dying oil industry and into these new growth industries.
Moreover, increased regulation and a move toward some type of cap-and-trade system for emissions will create white-collar jobs in consulting, auditing and database management and will create more of a need for corporate responsibility officers.
I was happy to hear Barack Obama last night finally tie alternative energy to job creation and recovery. It’s a point I wish he would hammer home more often, and if he wins in November, I hope it turns out to be more than just a campaign promise. It would make him gutsy and forward thinking, and not just another politico.
If you’re interested in learning more about the green job market and the greening of the workforce, check out the series of stories I wrote last week for USNews.com
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