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Green is in.
Signifying more than color, the word green represents what may be the key to future economic growth in this region.
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According to a report recently released by a coalition of conservation and labor groups, workers at every skill level will be in high demand and enjoy greater job security in key industries essential to building a clean-energy economy in America and fighting global warming.
The report was authored by Robert Pollin and Jeanette Wicks-Lim of the Department of Economics and Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and commissioned by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). It was released in cooperation with the Green Jobs for America Campaign, a partnership of the Sierra Club, Blue Green Alliance, United Steelworkers, NRDC and with the Center for American Progress and Green for All.
The report identifies a variety of occupations representing a broad range of skills needed to build clean energy solutions. The following statistics, the report said, come from the May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, Bureau of Labor Statistics; IMPLAN input-output modeling system, Bureau of Economic Analysis 2005 Annual Input-Output Accounts.
They include:
- Carpenters will be needed to make buildings more energy efficient. There are nearly 45,000 carpenters in Pennsylvania, paid an average of over $18 per hour.
- Electricians are essential to expanding mass transit solutions. There are more than 3,000 electricians in Pennsylvania, paid an average of nearly $24 per hour.
- Operations managers are needed to manufacture of energy-efficient automobiles. There are more than 35,000 operations managers in Pennsylvania, paid an average of nearly $41 per hour.
- Machinists craft essential components for wind power. There are more than 21,000 machinists in Pennsylvania, paid an average of over $17 per hour.
- Welders are vital to solar power manufacturing. There are nearly 18,000 welders in Pennsylvania, paid an average of over $16 per hour. - Industrial truck drivers transport supplies and fuels for the cellulosic biofuels sector. There are nearly 34,000 industrial truck drivers in Pennsylvania, paid an average of more than $14 an hour.
Locally, the potential for green employment is great. For example, one local agency completed its first green building project last year.
"As we looked at the community service center in the late 1980s and the family service center in the 1990s, we wanted to incorporate energy savings into those buildings and incorporate elements of green as well,'' James Stark, Fayette County Community Action Agency Inc (FCCAA) chief executive officer, said.
"But neither the information nor the materials were available or they were too costly to incorporate at that time. The market (for green) really didn't take off until the early part of 2000.
"As we began planning the administration service center, we again wanted to incorporate green as a main feature in it. There was more information available and, with the U.S. Green Council, there was a rating system that wasn't available before.
The FCCAA, Stark added, "wanted to create a building that would create a healthier environment in terms of the people working in it and those using the facilities.
"Green is also now a priority with the state and federal government. The Pittsburgh region and southwestern Pennsylvania leads in green development largely due to the support of the Pittsburgh area foundations. So, in building the new center, we saw it as an opportunity to continue the educational process in a regional approach,'' he said.
"We made a strategic decision in building the center. A lot of experts suggested we use an architect who had done green buildings and bring in contractors from the outside who had experience in green buildings. But our approach was that we wanted to use local professionals and builders and increase their capacity to do future green development. We worked with a local architect and local contractors. There was a learning curve in it for all of us. It worked out wonderfully,'' Stark said.
The obvious thing, he added, "is the energy savings.
"Compared to the community services center built in the late 1980s, the new building is 50 percent more efficient. It is 30 percent more efficient than the family services center we built in the 1990s. So, we see the benefits of the savings on energy costs.
Full Story: http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19790380&BRD=2280&PAG=461&dept_id=468387&rfi=6
