U.S. Department of Labor Announces Green Jobs Initiative

The United StatesDepartment of Labor has announced a $190 million initiative to create green jobs across the country. Just when you began to despair that there were any good ideas out there, here comes something that could be the beginning of a larger movement toward economic and ecological sustainability.

It is instructive to put these two "eco's" together as the United States economy is at least in part tied to the ecology of the nation and the ecology of the world. What connects the two? In a word: energy.

The Department of Labor earmark of $190 million is designated to be used to "teach workers the skills required in emerging industries, including energy efficiency and renewable energy" and is a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (i.e. the federal economic stimulus plan). An additional $150 million in federal funds have been dedicated to "Pathways out of Poverty" grants. In this program, also a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (federal stimulus plan), money will be used to "help disadvantaged populations find ways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries".

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Money for green jobs is money well spent. The money designated by these two segments of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will not solve our national economic problems in a single swoop of benign, forward-thinking legislation. However, the decision to create green jobs and energy efficient, eco-aware sectors demonstrates an interest in longevity and sustainability.

Spending money on green jobs is an investment in a real, possible future. This is opposed to the notion of spending federal money on what would amount to throwaway programs such as the coal industry. Though 50% of America's power comes from coal, we will, naturally, run out of this singular natural resource.

Going green with our spending of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 funds means that we will create infrastructure for green energy and we will generate new methods of energy conservation. The less power we use, the longer our coal will last, of course. And the more green energy we use, the easier it will be for us to keep our lights on into the year 2100.

Furthermore, if we consider American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as an investment in the more immediate future, we will create jobs where there were none. This is in direct opposition to our spending on road construction and bridge reinforcement. In the arena of contract labor, there is a rather select group of large companies capable of handling the contracts required for bridge building. If the goal of economic stimulus is to create new jobs, then paying the companies that are already working - because they are the only ones who can - then we are missing the point.

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Federal dedication to the two eco's of the economy and the ecology then represents a twin virtue.

It is rare today to applaud the United States government for anything, especially its vision for the future, but the Department of Labor's announcement of $190 million and $150 million for separate, beneficial green oriented projects is laudable.

Green jobs in the USA?

Now we can add, Go USA to our "Let's go green!" bumper stickers.