Much Heralded Green Collar/Green Hardhat Job Report Finds That Truck Drivers Can Deliver Organic Produce
A new Center for American Progress (CAP) report finds that in a study of 12 states, there are people that work in jobs that could be “green jobs”. And collectively, accross the country this is over 14MM people, or nearly 10% of the U.S. work force. Wow… that’s impressive…. 10% of Americans work in jobs that could be employed in green industries… could be…, hmmmm,… could be…. waaaaait a minute.
That’s right folks - if you were hoping for some good data on green collar labor statistics you have come to the wrong place. CAP just realeased a report that shows how many electiricians there are in Florida as a proxy for the green collar job potential for electricians in Florida (somebody needs to wire up all those solar panels - oh wait, Florida lacks tax subsidies, net metering and has ridiculously low power prices so solar penetration in Florida is negligible (oh the irony Sunshine State) - oh well…)
Did you know if you drive a truck, you too could be part of the green revolution? This silly report takes BLS numbers for certain industries (mostly construction or industrial related), totes them up and then pronounces that all these jobs “could be green” if we had the necessary resources and investment in that sector.
Of course, they all could be employed in the amusement park industry if there were enough resources and investment made in building a giant inter-city roller coaster…
The saddest part - apparently some important people think this is useful information. The best is from the American Association of Truckers - which notes that if we build more windmills we’ll need trucks to haul construction materials… So much for my investment in that giant construction materials trebuchet.
This just in! A source within CAP tells me that they have a report coming out that will show that the total potential demand for green power at comparable prices to current power sources is nearly equal to the total demand for power…
You’re quite right to be skeptical, and I found this article to be a healthy backdrop for a grant proposal I’m working on for green collar jobs. Behind many of these reports (and maybe even my grant proposal!) is the constant demand from politicians and private foundations for silver bullets. Well … here they are. And they’re about as useful as any silver bullet.
I’m trying to pull together curricula for existing (construction) workers so that they can spot energy leaks, water leaks, and other opportunities for repair, even before the building owner requests it. This may be just good customer service, but it DOES save resources (as most vigilant maintenance and mechanical upgrades should).
My dilemma is providing some measure of demand for an administration that rightly wants to strengthen the competitiveness of its work force and lead it to some measure of future security.
It ain’t easy. Maybe the best we can expect out of these reports is an interesting array of numbers that push us to get more detail.
Thanks
Amy B., greenGoat
(a green demolition, green building consultant)
Somerville, MA
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Mark Langner replied on July 12, 2008 11:51 am:
Amy - Thanks for the comment. There is no doubt that there is a need for information around these topics. I think it does harm to put out such obvious fluff - undermining the credibility of organizations that stand to gain from a swing toward more sustainable practices.
I like your idea, what you are getting at is the biggest opportunity we have in renewable investment today - conservation technologies and techniques. The U.S. is 50% less efficient in its energy use than Switzerland when measured by oil barrels per dollar of GDP. This means there is a ton of room for improvement. Were we to cut that gap by only half we wouldn’t need to import a drop of oil (now unfortunately a big chunk of that problem is transportation) - but buildings are a big problem too.
I am not certain how you execute the vision that you speak about - a more likely solution is for energy auditors and consultants to come in and become part of the construction process or be hired by building owners to create efficiencies. My buddy Frank Gerber, who writes FranklyGreen.com, has a company Sustainable Spaces that does such work - you should check it out.
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I think it is great that “green” means more jobs for workers. I think that the alternative energy push over the next few years that I think will happen will mean even more jobs. At least I think it should and I hope it does.
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