(Left to right) Vice President Joe Biden, Rep. Chaka Fattah (D) of Pennsylvania, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, Sen. Bob Casey (D) of Pennsylvania, Mayor Michael Nutter, Rep. Bob Brady (D) of Pennsylvania, and Sen. Arlen Specter (R) of Pennsylvania tour the University of Pennsylvania's campus Friday.
(Matt Rourke/AP)Photos (1 of 1)
Biden task force pushes ‘green jobs’
By Eoin O'Carroll | 03.02.09
The first meeting of the White House’s Middle Class Task Force on Friday focused on how the creation of so-called “green jobs” can help fuel the economic recovery and bolster the middle class.
The meeting, which took place Friday afternoon at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and was live-blogged on the White House’s website, is chaired by Vice President Joe Biden. Speakers included John Podesta, the president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank; Van Jones, president of Green for All, a group that seeks green jobs for the poor; Fred Krupp, the president of the Environmental Defense Fund; Carol Browner, Obama’s special adviser on energy and climate change; Leo Gerard, president of United Steelworkers; and Michael Nutter, the mayor of Philadelphia.
Many members of President Obama’s Cabinet were also in attendance, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, and the newly confirmed Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis.
In his opening remarks, Vice President Biden drew applause with this line:
Look, folks, we’re making an unprecedented investment in this country, in the recovery of this country, and an unprecedented investment in clean energy, clean energy that will be able to create tens of thousands, over time, of good, high-paying jobs, the vast majority of which are not exportable – they’re all American jobs.
Green for All’s Mr. Jones, a civil rights activist and attorney who has long maintained that the work of building a greener infrastructure can provide a pathway out of crime and poverty, built on Biden’s theme.
“There is a moral principle to green the ghetto first,” he said. “To give young people the chance to put down that handgun and pick up a caulking gun.”
Jones called for a “new math,” one that recognizes that early and effective government intervention can prevent unnecessary spending – such as on prisons or health care – further down the road.
But what exactly is a green job?
The term “green job” is, as the Monitor’s Marilyn Gardner pointed out last year, notoriously slippery. Ahead of the meeting, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an op-ed by Vice President Biden that attempted to explain it:
So what exactly are “green jobs”? They provide products and services that use renewable energy resources, reduce pollution, and conserve energy and natural resources.
Investing in green jobs also means keeping up with the modern economy. At a time when good jobs at good wages are harder and harder to come by, we must find new, innovative opportunities.
According to the Council of Economic Advisers, green jobs pay 10 to 20 percent more than other jobs. They also are more likely to be union jobs. Building a new power grid, manufacturing solar panels, weatherizing homes and office buildings, and renovating schools are just a few of the ways to create high-quality green jobs that strengthen the foundation of this country.
Reframing environmentalism
That so many top officials are asserting that insulating homes and erecting wind turbines will boost the economy represents something of a victory for those who have long sought to reframe environmentalism.
Environmentalists have long been viewed by many as mortal enemies of prosperity. Famously, in the early 1990s, the Northern Spotted Owl became widely reviled as an icon of job destruction.
Bruised by these types of characterizations, many environmentalists tried to claim that their goals would actually promote economic growth. In an important October 2004 essay, political strategists Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus declared environmentalism dead. The movement, they wrote, had focused too much energy on seekeing to simply preserve natural ecosystems without offering a compelling, positive vision of the future.
Here’s what they proposed:
Talking about the millions of jobs that will be created by accelerating our transition to a clean energy economy offers more than a good defense against industry attacks: it’s a frame that moves the environmental movement away from apocalyptic global warming scenarios that tend to create feelings of helplessness and isolation among would-be supporters.
It seems that, just over four years later, these ideas have arrived at the highest levels of the US government.
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2. Kevin | 03.03.09
While I found your article interesting it is hard to understand how Carol Browner can be mentioned without reference to her Environmental Agency’s conviction for discrimination. Irrespective of Browner’s inside knowledge of the President’s policies, it is clear that Carol Browner is still directly in the chain of command between the White House and the Environmental Protection Agency she left in disgrace. Browner’s presence can only send a chilling message throughout the Agency that the master is back in command. Carol Browner’s history of discrimination and retaliation at EPA is well documented.
In 2000, a jury found that the EPA, under then-administrator Carol Browner, was guilty of race, sex, and color-based discrimination, and that Ms. Browner tolerated a hostile work environment. During subsequent oversight hearings of the Congressional Science Committee, the Chairman instructed Browner to clean up the working conditions at EPA so the next administrator wouldn’t get handed “a garbage can.”
Despite promising to do so under oath, Ms. Browner never accepted the jury’s findings as EPA Administrator. She never disciplined any of the senior managers under her supervision at EPA who were implicated in Coleman-Adebayo v. Carol Browner. She never stopped the appeal process in the case. It was her successor, Christine Todd Whitman, in her 1st act as EPA Administrator, who announced that the verdict in Coleman-Adebayo would not be appealed, and that the Agency would accept the jury’s findings.
Congress was so outraged by the conditions within EPA, that it passed unanimously in both houses the NoFEAR Act (Notification of Federal Employees Anti-discrimination and Retaliation) 2001 and mandated that all Federal new hires be instructed in Coleman-Adebayo v Browner within 90 days, and that all Federal workers receive the instruction every 2 years.
Apparently, being found guilty of discrimination by a jury of her peers, having Congress enact legislation to outlaw her administrative behavior, and mandate that all Federal workers be instructed in Coleman-Adebayo v Browner was not enough to derail Ms. Browner’s career, or to prevent the retaliation against Dr. Coleman-Adebayo from the EPA that continues to this day.
These are not “allegations,” they are matters of public record.
The core of the case in Coleman-Adebayo v Carol Browner was Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. President Obama is a civil rights attorney. The question of justice in this matter has not been adequately addressed, with Ms. Browner’s ascension back into the heights of power, while Dr. Coleman-Adebayo, who stood up for civil rights for all Federal employees was thrown under the bus where Rosa Parks, a generation before her, took her stand.
The media need to start asking the President, Ms. Browner, and new EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, what the public is to make of this regrettable case of a courageous whistleblower, Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, being vilified, while her tormentors, Carol M. Browner — and the staff Browner left behind at EPA — are still retaliating, still discriminating against whistleblowers (who may be able to prevent poisonous peanuts from killing people), and still thriving within the EPA.
3. Guy Thompto | 03.05.09
Who could be against “green jobs’. The problem is, I have yet to hear anyone tell me what a “green job” is.
I am extremely worried about America’s ability to preserve jobs for the middle and lower income families. With the coming of very heavy taxation of most manufacturers of equipment, most of these jobs are going to be permanently lost to India and China - two countries that have vowed not to limit CO2 production via any treaty.
What specific jobs can these low-skilled employees move to? I think that most of those who call for cap-and-trade have very little sympathy for the permanent lowering of America’s standard of living. Most who propose this idea will be personally unaffected. I deal with these small manufacturers every day. Most are struggling now just to hang on. Most will die with the cap-and-trade law and the majority of their employees will be either permanently unemployed or forced to take much lower paying jobs. There are no “green jobs” waiting for these unfortunate people.
4. GreenCareersGuide | 03.05.09
Green jobs are absolutely available. The problem is, no one knows where to start looking for them. Greencareersguide.com is a helpful resource for displaced workers, young adults, and teens find green jobs. For instance, the careers section covers high quality in demand jobs like solar, wind and geothermal. Additionally the training section gives details on how and where to get trained. And, for the entrepreneurial types there is the business opportunity section that points out how to start your own green business.
5. Brian J. Donovan | 03.07.09
Louisiana will create jobs by growing ethanol demand, specifically hydrous ethanol demand, beyond the 10% blend market.
Governor Bobby Jindal has signed into law the Advanced Biofuel Industry Development Initiative, Act 382, the most comprehensive and far-reaching state legislation in the nation enacted to develop a statewide advanced biofuel industry. The legislature found that the proper development of an advanced biofuel industry in Louisiana requires implementation of the comprehensive “field-to-pump” strategy:
(1) Feedstock other than corn;
(2) Decentralized network of small advanced biofuel manufacturing facilities;
(3) Variable blending pumps, in lieu of splash blending, will offer the consumer E10, E20, E30 and E85; and
(4) Hydrous ethanol.
“Field-to-Pump” is a unique strategy created by Renergie, Inc. (“Renergie”) to locally produce and market advanced biofuel (“non-corn fuel ethanol”) via a network of small advanced biofuel manufacturing facilities. The purpose of “field-to-pump” is to maximize rural development and job creation while minimizing feedstock supply risk and the burden on local water supplies.
6. Vikram Patel | 03.07.09
Are we ready to take the first step? How about a change in our shopping style? It is easy. Just say NO to Plastic Shopping Bags. Carry your own shopping bags made from 100% cotton fabric. Adopting this will not only eliminate plastic waste and its negative impact on our environment,but we also reduce our dependence on foreign oil because it takes oil to make plastic bags. U.S. alone consumes over 200 billion plastic bags per year and you need to 20 million barrels of oil to make 120 billion plastic bags.
It is well established that deforestation (due to humans and mother nature) in the world contributes significantly to the buildup of carbon dioxide. We need a campaign to plant trees all over the urban areas. If we select trees that produce fruits or nuts, you also create economic and health benefit to people. Another example is to create traps/basins for rain water collection. Southern California is famous for rolling hills and seasonal fire. At present, all the rain water(rain received during December-March period) flows down and is wasted. The vegetation on the hills dry up by August. Santa Anna winds start in September and so also the fire. The solution is simple. Use carpet bombing strategy on the hills to make hundreds of basins, which will collect water during rainy season and provide moisture for vegetation to stay green all year round. This way one can prevent fires and also help decrease carbon dioxide in Southern California.
Deforestation is also a major problem in Africa and some parts of Asia. Here people cut down trees to u8se the timber as fuel. There has to be major push for planting trees in Africa and Asia. Again, the trees should produce fruits and nuts, which adds to the economic well being of the people.
7. Gordon | 03.07.09
Actually, it is the job of every American to reduce energy use and save money by driving the speed limit, turning off electric appliances and becoming energy smart.
Go to http://www.climateculture.com to see how much money you can save by using less energy. Once you start saving then you can start spending on items that will use less energy which will help the economy and produce green jobs.
8. Curtis | 03.09.09
Among all of this “go green” stuff going on these days people have lost sight of everything else… i am not going to post a long thing describing how this happened but what i will say about it is
“You cant go green enough to save your soul”
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1. Sherry | 03.02.09
There could be no better investment in America than to invest in America becoming energy independent! We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources.Create cheap clean energy, new badly needed green jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. The cost of fuel effects every facet of consumer goods from production to shipping costs. After a brief reprieve gas is inching back up.OPEC will continue to cut production until they achieve their desired 80-100. per barrel.If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV’s instead had plug-in electric drive trainsthe amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota.There is a really good new book out by Jeff Wilson called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now. http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com No one single factor in our society has a greater impact on our economy than the cost of fuel. This past year is a testimony to that fact.