Even though many would argue that the U. S. economy is already in recession, green jobs may just be one of the pathways out. I’ve talked about green collar jobs in the past as a growing segment of the employment market for years to come.
Now, there’s some historical proof that green really pays, well, green. A staggering 1.5 million jobs have been created already since the 1970’s because of California’s energy efficiency programs, saving $56 billion in energy costs and putting $45 billion in the pockets of employees.
Various other experts such as the Apollo Alliance say that 5 million green jobs can be created in the next 10 years if the governmental investment will back this up. Presidential candidate Barack Obama has also stated that he wants to create 5 million green jobs as well, employing people to work in the field of wind and solar energy.
A new work program in Oakland, California called the Oakland Green Jobs Corps is taking people out of poverty and putting them into fighting pollution with new green jobs. According to SFGate, “The city of Oakland provided $250,000 for the program. Private companies and trade unions have also supported the effort, which will lead to 40 paid trainees securing jobs in green construction, energy efficiency and solar panel installation.”
And, California isn’t the only state interested in creating new green jobs for its citizens. States such as Utah, Colorado and Texas are also very interested in green employment, training and education so the future of the country will be clean, green and employed.