03.31.09
“Green industry, green technology and green jobs are our future, and will play a key role in our economic recovery,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee. “I am confident that if we stay on course and encourage American ingenuity and innovation, we can emerge from this national recession stronger than we were before.”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law in February, set aside $50 billion in grants and tax incentives to promote energy efficiency and the renewable energy sector. Congress also approved the Green Jobs Act in 2007, a $500 million program to help train American workers for jobs in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries.
“Effective implementation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act energy efficiency measures is essential to our plans,” said Robin Roy, vice president of Serious Materials, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of green building materials. “It will allow us to expand operations and hire up far more rapidly than would be possible with out it.”
With millions of Americans out of work in the manufacturing and construction industries, future sustainable job creation is dependent on the development of good-paying jobs in emerging industries, witnesses told the subcommittee.
"The emergence of a green economy will lead to a new generation of jobs, as well as the eventual transformation of traditional occupations across many industry sectors” said Kathy Krepcio, executive director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
A number of private groups are already working to bring businesses, environmental groups, labor, and government resources to the table to develop strategies to spur green sector jobs.
“Our energy, climate, and economic crises also present tremendous opportunities,” said Jerome Ringo, president of the clean energy group Apollo Alliance. “We believe our nation can and must achieve a triple bottom line: energy security, climate stability, and broadly shared economic prosperity.”
One element of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to encourage energy efficiency and job creation through the greening of schools, government buildings and other large office complexes. Advocates say that these investments will not only pay off through lower energy consumption, but have the potential to create millions of jobs for engineers, construction workers, and other well paying trades.
“There are millions of commercial, educational, medical and other very large buildings across our country that are energy and water hogs,” said Jill Sherman of the green building development company Gerding Edlen. “Buildings that are needlessly wasting energy and desperate need retrofitting; and this is where we believe the current opportunity lies.”
Green Jobs Key to Long-Term Economic Growth, Witnesses Tell House Labor Panel
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Investing in the green economy and green jobs will not only improve the environment and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but will also help spur long-term economic growth, witnesses told the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee.“Green industry, green technology and green jobs are our future, and will play a key role in our economic recovery,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee. “I am confident that if we stay on course and encourage American ingenuity and innovation, we can emerge from this national recession stronger than we were before.”
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law in February, set aside $50 billion in grants and tax incentives to promote energy efficiency and the renewable energy sector. Congress also approved the Green Jobs Act in 2007, a $500 million program to help train American workers for jobs in the renewable energy and energy-efficiency industries.
“Effective implementation of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act energy efficiency measures is essential to our plans,” said Robin Roy, vice president of Serious Materials, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of green building materials. “It will allow us to expand operations and hire up far more rapidly than would be possible with out it.”
With millions of Americans out of work in the manufacturing and construction industries, future sustainable job creation is dependent on the development of good-paying jobs in emerging industries, witnesses told the subcommittee.
"The emergence of a green economy will lead to a new generation of jobs, as well as the eventual transformation of traditional occupations across many industry sectors” said Kathy Krepcio, executive director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
A number of private groups are already working to bring businesses, environmental groups, labor, and government resources to the table to develop strategies to spur green sector jobs.
“Our energy, climate, and economic crises also present tremendous opportunities,” said Jerome Ringo, president of the clean energy group Apollo Alliance. “We believe our nation can and must achieve a triple bottom line: energy security, climate stability, and broadly shared economic prosperity.”
One element of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is to encourage energy efficiency and job creation through the greening of schools, government buildings and other large office complexes. Advocates say that these investments will not only pay off through lower energy consumption, but have the potential to create millions of jobs for engineers, construction workers, and other well paying trades.
“There are millions of commercial, educational, medical and other very large buildings across our country that are energy and water hogs,” said Jill Sherman of the green building development company Gerding Edlen. “Buildings that are needlessly wasting energy and desperate need retrofitting; and this is where we believe the current opportunity lies.”
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