Climate Economics
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In defense of 'green jobs'
The phrase "green jobs" has been taken too literally by both advocates and detractors, leading to a bean-counting skirmishes that cast more heat than light.
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Finding a role for everyone in the sustainability revolution
Focus the Nation is trying to help young people find their place in the clean energy revolution, be it innovators, technician, storytellers, or politico.
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Green jobs are real: U.S. solar employs more people than steel
People want to know: Are green jobs real? The answer is resoundingly "yes." With roughly 93,500 direct and indirect jobs, the American solar industry now employs about 20,000 more workers than the U.S. steel production sector.
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Could climate change denialism tank the U.S. economy?
Even as South Korea is creating jobs in renewable energy, the U.S. is falling behind in green tech. While other countries are encouraging growth in industries like solar power and home efficiency retrofitting, the U.S. is still bickering over whether climate change is for real. So instead of taking advantage of these growing technologies to […]
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The untimely death of a green-collar job trainee — and one graduate’s triumph
Family photo: Lawrence Albert “Jahon” Craig Gadlin with his partner, Latina Cash, and son, Jahon Jr.Lawrence Albert “Jahon” Craig Gadlin, a 23-year-old father in Richmond, Calif., was outside repairing a car with friends on May 13, 2010, when a red minivan drove past and fired dozens of bullets, killing him and two others. I sat […]
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What’s next for the enviro-business coalition that defeated California’s Prop 23?
Now that we’ve put together some green muscle, what will we do with it?Photo: Denis GilesMuch of the green movement has been mounting a rearguard fight in Washington to fend off attempts to gut the U.S. EPA in the wake of the Republican sweep of the 2010 elections. California, as usual, is heading down a […]
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The budget deal slows innovation and slashes rail, green jobs, and cleanup programs
This year’s budget negotiation hacked away at a lot of important programs.Photo: Dan ConwayCross-posted from the Wonk Room. The Republican slash-and-burn budget accepted by President Obama to avoid a government shutdown will put our fragile economic recovery in jeopardy. Moreover, the cuts are ideologically motivated, preserving massive subsidies for fossil fuel polluters while knocking out support […]
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Climate hawks fight GOP efforts to shut down the clean energy economy
Cross-posted from the Wonk Room. During yesterday’s debate on the Upton-Inhofe bill (H.R. 910) to block climate pollution rules, Democrats who support clean energy manufacturing debunked conservative myths about the green economy. Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) discussed their amendment to study the economic impact to American competitiveness of abolishing climate standards […]
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Bob Herbert’s savvy advocacy for better infrastructure will be missed
Bob Herbert.Photo: Damon Winter/The New York TimesCross-posted from New Deal 2.0. Dear Mr. Herbert, I was sad to hear that you will no longer be writing for the op-ed page of the New York Times. Your critical perspective on the class war being waged against the middle and working class and the poor, on the waste […]
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This year’s Cleantech Forum: Less sexy, more efficient
Looking for new ways to get in the cleantech game.Photo: emilydickinsonridesabmxIt’s a rite of spring, the annual Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. Venture capitalists, startup entrepreneurs, and various hangers-on gather at an upscale hotel to network, pitch, and hopefully clinch some deals. There are scores of these green biz conferences, of course, and after awhile […]
