Are we supposed to bleed green today or something?
I’m all for celebrating the Earth, but turning off the lights is probably not going to lead to jobs for the millions of Americans who are unemployed right now.
We’ve heard so much about all the green collar jobs that will be generated by a renewed focus on the environment by this administration, but unfortunately the big environmentally friendly job explosion has not yet started.
There is a lot of hype though:
“The good news is that we can beat this global recession and global warming at the same time.”
This statement was made by the Obama administration’s new “green czar” Van Jones during a speech at a leadership conference in Massachusetts, and he’s been going around the country lately singing the praises of so-called green jobs.
Alas, there is a debate over how many news jobs will actually be created.
The green investments Obama has proposed in his March budget could translate into 1.1 million new jobs, according to a report released earlier this month by the Economic Policy Institute.
But a study, funding by a pro-business group called the Institute for Energy Research, says all the job hype is a myth.
Myth: Green jobs forecasts are reliable.
Reality: The green jobs studies made estimates using poor economic models based on dubious assumptions.
Myth: Green jobs promote employment growth.
Reality: By promoting more jobs instead of more productivity, the green jobs described in the literature encourage low-paying jobs in less desirable conditions. Economic growth cannot be ordered by Congress or by the United Nations. Government interference - such as restricting successful technologies in favor of speculative technologies favored by special interests - will generate stagnation.
It’s hard to know who’s right, and it’s bugging me. I’m sort of having trouble celebrating Earth Day because of it.
I wrote about this debate in my MSNBC.com column before Obama even took office, and it seems that there is still no hard data on what American workers can expect.
Some experts project an explosion of such jobs, but no one really knows how many green-collar jobs there are today because the government doesn’t even have such a category.
Even the meaning of the word “green collar” is up for debate. Many experts lump together green industry manufacturing positions and office jobs under the same green-collar umbrella, although Raquel Pinderhughes, a professor at San Francisco State University who says she coined the term “green collar,” says it originally referred to only blue-collar type positions.
Green collar, blue collar, freaking rainbow collar — all I can say is the growing ranks of the jobless are hot under the collar.
Maybe if we turn the lights off we won’t be able to see them.
April 26th, 2009 at 1:24 am
One of the oddest coincidence that no one as far as I know has noticed is the fact that ever since the inhabitants of the earth were hypnotized or coerced into believeing that man is more powerful than nature, the world economy has taken a downturn. That is unless you are, of course, willing to ‘industrialize’ your nation like China as one example.
I ask myself, what do we do as Americans when the Chinese, or perhaps the Koreans, begin to dig into the earth, perhaps in a a country such as Africa. What will they do with the natural resources that remain totally untapped?
Perhaps our great-great grandchildren will all be earthlings. Perhaps they will be wise enough to learn from our stupidity. most of it is very well recorded and on video.
There is a long bike trail that runs through Pittsburgh and goes to Washington. It used to be train tracks. Yuo know those things that helped our nation become as great as it is. Eventually, I foresee all the people with rusty bikes and holes in their wing tipped shoes walking along in ragged clothing. THey can be encouraged by the tall grass man replaced the heavy steel rails with. They can become enamoured with the sun dappling through the blossoms of the trees man planted there. Perhaps they will eat the grass and the blossoms for substinence. They might spit it out because it tastes like steel.
Imagine the wind blowwing the turbines in the windfarms. Why our monitors are bright and we are content. The wind stops for a few minutes and with it our monitors dim. We frown as the light goes away. You intelligent and environmentally conscious people do know that is the circimstance of renewable energy resources? Or are you so stupid as I suspect you are.
Thank god, we elected a President born in 1961, just like me. We avoided electing a leader or a stupid hippie born in the 50’s. I hope our next President is born in the 70’s. It could realistically happen. I believe it will. and the further away we are from this ‘Green’ and non productive ideology, the better off our world will be.
Of course there are cleaner, more powerful and abundant resources we have yet to discover. In my heart, I know there are no secrets anywhere in the whole universe. THe answers are always right in front of us. However, until we do have that knowledge. Until we can collectively set aside our petty differences, truely we must accept that we must produce.
Anyone want to help me build a steel mill? I promise you a job.
May 6th, 2009 at 1:22 am
Federal Computer Week is already recommending that Federal workers start looking for more young grads entering the workforce to look to the Fed. Ideologically, this is a better time to apply than during the past administration.
Regarding cublicles, “meditation station” isn’t a bad concept. There’s a dandy little handheld device out called an EmWave tha helps get the heartbeats coherent (non-jaggedy) in jig time, and it works quite well. This related program started out being offered to many big corporations as a way to minimize office stress, so it is proven and accepted in some quarters - it might be worth looking into.
Perhaps this is the only place I can say it, but it seems stupid for GM to abolish Pontiac. Buick only rarely makes sporty cars (true, some very good ones), but most are known for church pew front bench seats, and a distinctly older, country club vibe. They ought to merge the two, and let Pontiac make a couple of upscale rapid cruisers (mine will do 145), and leave the comfy sedans to Buick, for those who want a realistically priced Caddy.
As a parting shot - sorry - Mr. Graham - not all hippies are stupid. I met one driving a cab in Pittsburgh, who had lived in California for a while, and he was spot on - we had a great conversation on the way to the train station. Also, there are still train tracks that run from Pittsburgh to Washington - they’re now owned by CSX. Were you perhaps referring to the old Western Maryland, connecting with the Pittsburgh and West Virgnia in Connellsville? The steel mills were killed by enviro regulations, and very stubborn owners. Tokyo still smells like coke fumes in the morning - funny how they don’t have EPA regs aginst their steel mills over there!
May 6th, 2009 at 3:13 am
Sometimes Government is useless, When crisis hit the world, the world has no backup, like america and other no. 1 country, But how about the country like china, japan, korea, those countries that Hi-Technology are rising, are they hit by crisis? A lot of question that hard to answer. How long this crisis takes, Middle east crisis has been hit from the beginning. Those people that misunderstand in thier belief and philosophy. When this crisis end?