Thursday, October 1, 2009

Green job definition - What are green jobs?

The most appropriate definition of "green job" would be job or business that is considered to be environmentally conscious. Environmentally conscious job is actually any job that helps restore our planet's healthy by for instance cleaning up the environment or controlling climate change impact. You have probably heard statements from politicians like Barrack Obama that promise thousands of new green jobs to help cope with environmental problems world is faced with these days.

The whole green job idea actually looks quite spectacular because what you're doing is earning money by helping cleaning up the environment. Making money by helping environment is certainly a new aspect because so far money was being made mostly through industry and you don't need me telling you what kind of environmental mess has industry done over the last couple of decades. Environmental careers are certainly looking to be the next big thing that could actually do something good for our planet but lots of money will have to be spent before we can talk of green jobs revolution.

If you remember President Obama promised to spend $150 billion over 10 years to create 5 million new green-collar jobs, mostly in renewable energy sectors like solar and wind energy. There was this one rather interesting study by the RAND Corporation and University of Tennessee which found that if 25% of all American energy were to be produced from renewable sources by 2025, we would generate at least 5 million new green jobs. But such large percentage of renewable energy is still very much utopia because of two reasons : fossil fuels lobbies are still too powerful and the development of renewable energy sector in U.S. is still going to slow to create significant change in the next few decades.

We also must not forget that average person will not do this job just because he loves the planet, many will be strictly motivated with money, meaning they would ask decent wages and a real career path to fully enjoy it. This has to be ensured to make these jobs highly appealing to most people.

What green jobs really need is much stronger renewable energy sector, and much more environmental conscience from all of us. We must first realize what exactly are we doing to our planet (climate change and pollution), and then start cleaning our environment. Ensuring much bigger percentage of cleaner energy (energy from renewable sources) would definitely mean less greenhouse gases, less pollution, and ultimately less impact to climate change.

World has just started recovering from recessions where millions of people across the globe have lost their jobs and are not able to support their families. Why not giving these people green jobs so they can not only help themselves and their families but also help our planet.

The right example on how countries should be acting comes from Spain. Spain has already invested $30 billion in public support for renewables, and is determinant to reduce big unemployment rate of 18,5 % by ensuring jobs in solar and wind energy sector for millions of Spaniards. Preliminary reports suggest that jobs in renewable energy sector in Spain could redeploy up to 80 percent of the million construction workers who lost their jobs because of recession in 2008. This would of course cost taxpayers lot more money but would in the end result in goods for not only environment but for economy as well.

So far ecology was always forced to compete against economy, losing time and time again. Wouldn't it be great if green jobs actually unite economy and ecology?

1 comment:

  1. I believe that in couple of years time we will see lot more green jobs because people will have to something to save our planet.