Millions of Jobs of a Different Collar
Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
EVERYONE knows what blue-collar and white-collar jobs are, but now a job of another hue - green - has entered the lexicon.
Presidential candidates talk about the promise of “green collar” jobs - an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions view these new jobs as replacements for positions lost to overseas manufacturing and outsourcing. Urban groups view training in green jobs as a route out of poverty. And environmentalists say they are crucial to combating climate change.
No doubt that the number of green-collar jobs is growing, as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy. And the numbers are expected to increase greatly in the next few decades, because state governments have mandated that even more energy come from alternative sources.
But some skeptics argue that the phrase “green jobs” is little more than a trendy term for politicians and others to bandy about. Some say they are not sure that these jobs will have the staying power to help solve the problems of the nation’s job market, and others note that green jobs often pay less than the old manufacturing jobs they are replacing.
Indeed, such is the novelty of the green-job concept that no one is certain how many such jobs there are, and even advocates don’t always agree on what makes a job green.
(26 March 2008)
Related from SightLine: Green-Collar Jobs: The Secret History.
I wrote this in my green collar manufacturing blog on March 11
Defining green collar jobs as blue collar jobs done in the environmental sector is too limited. Shouldn’t white collar jobs in this sector be considered green as well? Aren’t the LEED Consultants who manage the design of an energy efficient manufacturing site also ‘green collar workers’? What about the accountants behind the scenes who are making room in their budgets for renewable energy because it can cut costs? Isn’t the person finding out the expected return on investment for green projects also a green collar worker?
Sean Keller
http://www.greencollareconomy.com