By Lorraine Lyman – Dallas South News Contributor
In the midst of a large shift in the way we do business in this country, our hopes for today and tomorrow stand on the shoulders of creative, innovative giants willing to take risks based on sustainable philosophies. These giants will come from the public and private sectors and will help to employ people for new jobs and new careers.
Clean energy, one of the most talked about aspects of going green, can be a spark for revitalizing America. Are we actually at a point where we can marry that idea with the manufacturing industry and intend for this long suffering sector to shift gears and uplift our economy?
With states such as Michigan and California enduring heightened attention due to their fiscal woes and dire unemployment standings (15.2% and 12.2%, respectively) many people are wondering: where are the jobs? Texas, whose unemployment rate is currently 8.0%, lost a staggering 62,000 jobs from July 2009 to August 2009, the worst decline of any state over the last month.
However, these declines do not have to continue. Green manufacturing related to clean energy can be one of the cornerstones of a long-term turnaround in an industry that has lost 5.3 million jobs since January 2000. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D) IMPACT Act, which is now a part of the U.S. Senate’s American Clean Energy and Security Act, calls for sustainable support of the manufacturing industry.
Sen. Brown’s legislation would boost the manufacturing sector on national, state, and local levels by 30 billion dollars. The passage of his act, as it now stands, would create jobs via retooling and expanding current manufacturing facilities to produce clean energy technology products while focusing on small and medium size businesses that employ less than 500 people.
Supported by this bill are clean energy products that could vastly improve the career opportunities for someone looking to go green, monetarily and environmentally. These commodities include: wind turbines; solar energy; fuel cells; advanced batteries and biofuels; biomass, geothermal, and ocean energy equipment; and carbon capture and storage technology. Reducing greenhouse gases, conserving energy, and reducing emissions will be the strengths of other headline grabbing technology products included in the IMPACT Act.
For those interested in where the jobs are, stay tuned to the happenings in environmental policy and check out your local universities and community colleges for classes related to sustainable living. By significantly increasing our capacity to make green products in the U.S., we will give states such as Michigan, Ohio, California, Texas, and many others the opportunity to reverse dismal unemployment trends and revitalize individuals, the environment, and the economy.
Lorraine Lyman, MS, is founder of Savvy Success Unlimited, a business and life coaching company, specializing in an organization’s embodiment of the green movement’s values and practices and taking action accordingly. You can find her blogging about global sustainability, consciousness, and community at savvysuccess.blogspot.com
Edited by Shawn Williams
/