Growing Excitement, Expectations For Green Jobs Corps
March 2, 2009 by editor
Filed under Green Collar, Op-Ed
Wind turbines across the US have created a need for schools to add courses preparing wind turbine mechanics and other green workers for the fast growing new technology.
When Rita Bryer sees 300-foot-tall wind turbines sprouting up from the prairie near her home in western Oklahoma, she can’t help but wonder about the view from the top, where blades the size of semi-trucks spin.
“Out here, you can see the wind turbines from 10 miles away,” she said. “Think about how far you’ll be able to see when you’re at the top.”
So, partly out of curiosity, partly because she wants to be part of something new, the 51-year-old is leaving behind a career of odd jobs and oil-field work.
She’s going back to school to become a wind turbine mechanic — one who’ll have to scale the turbines to make repairs.
Across the country, people like Bryer are looking to the renewable energy sector in hopes its “green-collar jobs” will offer them stability in this shaky economy. Some are signing up for community college or apprenticeship programs that train students to be wind turbine mechanics, solar panel installers, fuel-cell engineers or energy efficiency experts.
Want Green Jobs For The Nation? Look to California
Instead of waffling on green energy, the US must offer consistent support
The last time the federal government tried to play a large role in stimulating the development of renewable-energy projects, it failed miserably. Instead, states such as California were the ones that ended up jump-starting today’s wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass industries. As President-elect Barack Obama and Congress craft a federal stimulus program package designed to add 2.5 million jobs, many of them green, across the country, they should remember some important lessons from the past.
Federal investments in wind power after the energy crisis of 1973 failed to produce a single commercial wind turbine. It took the political leadership of people such as California Gov. Jerry Brown to put in place state incentives to grow the wind industry from the ground up, instead of from the top down.
Now that Mr. Obama has picked his new energy and environment cabinet appointments, there is hope among many that the US can move forward with a clean power agenda. Given the lack of leadership from the White House over the past eight years, it is refreshing for renewable- energy advocates to hear that Obama doesn’t buy the argument that what’s good for the environment is bad for the economy.
The Goldilocks Problem of Renewable Energy
by Tam Hunt, Community Environmental Council
What is the best size for a renewable energy project? The answer is, of course: it depends. It depends on location, renewable energy resources (sun, wind, etc.), and costs. The bottom line is, however, that we truly do need all the renewable resources we can get. We have major crises either upon us or heading our direction that require a rapid buildout of renewable resources. At the same time, we need to vigorously pursue all available energy efficiency improvements.
Regarding the goldilocks problem of renewable energy, it’s important to be aware of the costs and feasibility of the various market segments. I divide the renewable energy market into three segments: small-scale (one megawatt (MW) and less); medium-scale (one to twenty MW); and large-scale (above 20 MW).
The advantage of small-scale renewables like rooftop solar photovoltaics is that they can be built relatively quickly due to fewer permitting hurdles. They also take advantage of rooftops or parking lots, so don’t require disturbing large amounts of land. Even though there are still permitting problems in many jurisdictions, conditions have improved remarkably in recent years. At the same time, the general public has become more tolerant of seeing solar panels on rooftops. And installers have become more adept at installing small installations tastefully.
Solar Energy Remains a Hot Idea in Los Angeles, Despite Flap
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks at a news conference for the installation the last of 1,727 solar panels on the rooftop of the Staples Center sports complex on October 28, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. The off-grid 345 kilowatt photovoltaic solar system, which covers 24,196 square feet, will provide power to Staples Center and the new Nokia Theatre L.A. Live sports and entertainment venues.
The flap over the city’s March 3 solar energy ballot measure, Measure B, while unfortunate and avoidable, should not obscure the merits of the proposal. After all, solar energy should not be a partisan issue since harnessing the sun’s power is in everyone’s best interest.
What is needed is more of a realistic view of this energy source that has bedeviled mankind for centuries. First, it isn’t “free.” Second, it will always cost a little more, but it carries broader economic and environmental advantages.
With that understanding, voters can better deal with the political follies surrounding Measure B. As usual, the political insider games at City Hall once they became public have tainted a worthwhile initiative involving the city utility, the Department of Water and Power, which through a combination of local leadership and statewide pressure from Gov. Schwarzenegger’s administration has caught the renewable energy bug.
Obama’s Department of Green Labor
December 23, 2008 by admin
Filed under Green Collar, Op-Ed
President-elect Barack Obama with California Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte), his pick for Secretary of Labor.
In announcing that he intends Hilda Solis to be his Secretary of Labor, President-elect Barack Obama made good on his campaign pledge of change: Not only will this choice likely bring relief from the anti-union and anti-worker policies of his predecessor, but it will also reinforce that environmental issues will be key to ensuring good employment.
Congresswoman Solis, representing California’s 32nd District since 2000, has distinguished herself by her support for labor rights and environmental justice causes. Specifically, she has been a strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act and for green collar jobs - jobs that protect the environment and offer decent pay and working conditions.
Introducing her in Chicago on December 19, Obama said, “For the past eight years, the Department of Labor has not lived up to its role either as an advocate for hardworking families or as an arbiter of fairness in relations between labor and management. That will change when Hilda Solis is Secretary of Labor. Under her leadership, I am confident that the Department of Labor will once again stand up for working families.”
A Green Agenda for Obama’s First 100 Days
Environmentalists offer the president-elect their advice on the priorities he should set for his administration.
Yale Environment 360 asked a wide-ranging group of environmental activists, scientists, and thinkers to answer the following question: If you were advising Barack Obama, what would you tell him are the most important environmental and energy initiatives that he should launch during his first 100 days?
Although the respondents - including entrepreneur Paul Hawken, Rajendra Pachauri of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, activist Van Jones, and green investing leader Mindy Lubber - represent a broad range of interests, they were largely in agreement on how best to solve the current economic and environmental challenges. Basically, they agree that weaning the country off fossil fuels and onto renewable sources of energy is the single best way to rebuild the U.S. economy; that Obama must use all the tools at his disposal - from invoking the Clean Air Act for regulating greenhouse gas emissions to persuading the new Congress to put a price on carbon - to tackle climate change and spur the move to alternative energy; that under an Obama administration the United States must lead in forging a new global climate change treaty; and that, given the rapidity of global warming, Obama must be made fully aware of the “scary” scientific facts - as environmentalist Bill McKibben puts it - and move with a sense of urgency.
The Sacramento Bee Op-Ed: Time for Candor on Climate Plan
Ever since he signed California’s 2006 law to reduce emissions linked to global warming, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made the transition sound startlingly easy.
A 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020? No problem. Bring on the hydrogen-powered Hummers, the geothermal-powered Jacuzzis and the solar-powered plasma televisions.
There is no need for sacrifice or higher energy prices in Schwarzenegger’s vision of a low-carbon future.
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