Shifting from the "dirty fossil-fuel-based" economy to one of clean energy would be a boost for millions of American workers, according to a report released Tuesday by a coalition of conservation and labor groups.
The report, "Job Opportunities for the Green Economy," studied employment conditions in 12 states including Indiana, looking at a range of occupations and income levels that would benefit from America's transition toward a clean energy economy. The 12 states were chosen because the United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club work jointly as part of an organization called the Blue Green Alliance. This alliance works to promote "green jobs" that contribute toward building or producing a clean energy economy in the U.S.
According to study authors Robert Pollin and Jeanette Wicks-Lim, economists at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, workers at every skill level will be in high demand and enjoy greater job security in key industries needed to build that green economy in America and to fight global warming. Millions of Americans already have these skills and are employed in such jobs as steelworkers, sheet metal workers, machinists, truck drivers, electricians and construction workers, the report says.
"The commitment to a clean energy economy will not only lead to quality jobs in manufacturing, unions and the building trades," said Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers. "It will help stop good-paying jobs from continuing to be exported."
The report pinpoints six energy strategies that would reduce pollution and lead to job growth, Pollin said during a teleconference in Washington, D.C. -- building retrofitting, mass transit, energy-efficient automobiles, wind power, solar power and cellulosic biofuels, such as corn and soybeans.
In addition, the study looked at 10 representative jobs that would be required to implement each strategy. Many of the jobs were part of more than one solution, Pollin said.
In Indiana, there are more than 86,000 people employed in such jobs, the report says. Average wages range from $13.99 per hour for an insulation worker to $36.71 per hour for a construction manager.
"This study shows that these jobs are not niche jobs. These will be mainstream jobs," said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club, a national environmental group.
A green, clean U.S. economy seems to be on the horizon, participants in the teleconference said.
The U.S. Senate is debating the Lieberman-Warner bill, said Van Jones, founder and president of Green for All, a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. The bill seeks to put a cap on America's dependence on fossil fuels and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70 percent of current levels by the year 2050.
