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Green Collar

The New Wave of the Future
When President Obama took office in 2008, he declared “We’ll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new green jobs that pay well, can’t be outsourced and help end our dependence on foreign oil.” In this economic climate of diminishing returns, with 8.2 percent of the workforce still without work and unemployment rates rising in 27 states just last month alone, can green collar jobs be

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The New Wave of the Future

When President Obama took office in 2008, he declared “We’ll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new green jobs that pay well, can’t be outsourced and help end our dependence on foreign oil.” In this economic climate of diminishing returns, with 8.2 percent of the workforce still without work and unemployment rates rising in 27 states just last month alone, can green collar jobs be the magical pot of gold over the rainbow, the savior to this nation’s jobless woes?

While no jobs are immune to the powers of a down economy, green collar jobs do hold some ray of hope. As reported by Tiffany Hsu of the Los Angeles Times back in February, a study conducted by the nonprofit research group Next 10 found that seven percent of jobs were lost from the state between 2009 and 2010 compared to three percent in green industries. These include jobs that protect the ecosystem and reduce energy use by stressing high efficiency methods. Think makers of hybrid or electric vehicles, sustainability officers, recycling brokers, solar panel installers (a quarter of them living in California) and landscape artists. And with California leading the charge in green initiatives, once people realize the long-term cost savings of going green, supply and demand for green products and services should increase, leading to more jobs. Going green should be a win-win situation for all involved: it’s chic, popular politically, depends on increasing efficiency in processes and drives economic growth.

But hold on—even though businesses are moving towards green technologies to satisfy public demand, much of the shift has been fueled by tax-friendly federal and state incentives ($2.3 billion earmarked for clean energy projects in 43 states).  Green technologies are long-term investments; with people antsy about the economic downturn and their own shrinking capital, would they still be willing to invest short term with no immediate gain? With a 30 percent increase in the world’s population predicted by the year 2050 (that according to the International Labor Organization), sustainability and green jobs will have to be the way to go if we are to save ourselves and the economy at large.

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