Green Jobs and Pennsylvania

In May of this year the Toronto Star published an article on Menova Energy, a solar power company, moving part of its manufacturing and production work to Toronto. Mark Winfield, a professor of environmental studies, noted Ontario’s lack of a “green industrial strategy.” Another quote:

If the province doesn’t move quickly, added Winfield, it will lose out to other jurisdictions such as New York State, Michigan and Pennsylvania.” (Hamilton)

Yes, Canadians fear our power and strength in green jobs.

We could be stronger and more powerful H.R. 6069 and H.R. 3221 would extend tax credits, including those that product renewable energy, invest in solar power and cleaner burning coal and other environmental purposes. It would be paid for by closing a tap loophole for offshore corporations (Anastasi). They have passed the House and are being considered in the Senate. (I am a little fuzzy on how these bills inter-relate.)

We’ve been hearing those phrases “green jobs” and “green collar jobs” a lot lately and you may be wondering just what the heck they are. Sometimes it is as simple as shifting a few spots in an established field. For example, someone in human resources goes from a traditional company to a firm that produces or offers green products or services. There is at least one firm, Green Careers, specializing in environmental career consulting (MacMillan). Those who like trivia may enjoy knowing that the term “green-collar” has been around since at least 1992 (Pappu).

David Foster, executive director of the Blue-Green Alliance (a partnership between the Sierra Club and The United Steelworkers Union) words it this way:

”There are green products and there are green processes,” Mr. Foster said. A green product in one specially designed to address environmental issues. But a green process is simply “making products in ways that don’t have a harmful effect,” a criterion that could apply to virtually any product. When manufacturers learn to use green processes, their employees’ jobs become green jobs. (Green)

Another aspect is professional work in emerging fields such as environmental engineers. Note this quote from the Boston Globe:

”Energy is a major issue for the global economy, and jobs related to oil and gas, alternative and renewable energy, and even nuclear are likely to see strong growth,” says John Challenger of outplace consulting form Challenger Gray & Christmas. He adds: “More companies are going green as concerns about global warming expand globally. There will be high demand for engineers and scientists to develop green technologies.” (Chase)

Many of these jobs are difficult, if not impossible to outsource:

“You can’t take a building you want to weatherize, put it on a ship to China and then have them do it and send it back,” said Mr. [Van] Jones. “So we are going to have to put people to work in this country – weatherizing millions of buildings, putting up solar panels, constructing wind farms. These green-collar jobs can provide a pathway out of poverty for someone who has not gone to college.” (Friedman)

Building green is one area where Pennsylvania has taken the lead. Pennsylvania’s first home targeting LEED certification was built in Doylestown (Hartke). At the local level, the Lower Makefield (Bucks County) Environmental Advisory Council is working on a green building ordinance that it hopes to present to the township supervisors later this summer:

Building green involves using various techniques and materials to minimize the impact on the environment. They include using less oil or natural gas in heating and air conditioning systems and cutting down on waste of materials during construction, among other things. (English)

Pittsburgh is also a leader in green construction:

The city is among the top in the national with 23 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified buildings, including the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the Senator John Heinz History Center. The LEED rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides standards for environmentally sustainable construction.

Only Portland, Seattle, Chicago and Atlanta have more LEED-certified buildings than Pittsburgh, according to Green Building Alliance statistics. Statewide, there are 83 such buildings, second only the California, with 130. (Togneri)

A number of public buildings in Pittsburgh have “green roofs,” a layer of vegetation that helps capture and recycle runoff water.

Pittsburgh has a sustainable design coordinator. Philadelphia also has a director of sustainability. There is also a Delaware Valley Green Building Council. This is likely to be a growth field, even in a down housing market:

The latest report from McGraw-Hill Construction, cosponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, predicts that the market for green housing will grow to from as little as $12 billion this year to between $40 billion and $70 billion by 2012 (Tischler)

Philadelphia architectural firm KieranTimberlake is working with developer Steve Glenn to produce pre-fabricated homes with smart panels that are projected to cost $155 a square foot and meet LEED Silver standards (Tischler).

Pennsylvania is also leading in some forms of renewable and alternative energy sources. Much has been made of Gamesa, a Spanish windmill manufacturer locating at a former U.S. Steel plant in Fairless Hills, Bucks County. Allen Kukovich, director of Gov. Ed Rendell’s Southwest Regional Office in Pittsburgh has noted:

Twenty-five new windmills are being planned for a site in Cambria County, he said. A windmill farm already exists along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County. Bucks County has the fourth largest solar field in the country.

“We’re starting to be No. 1 in wind and solar power in the Northeast,” Kukovich said. (Napsha)

There is also the often mentioned cellulosic ethanol plan in Clearfield County.

Environmentalists are not the only ones interested in wind power. Oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is planning on building the world’s largest wind farm in Texas (Case)

A report from the Blue/Green Alliance states that 42,000 of the 820,000 jobs that could be created by the Renewable Electricity Standard would be in Pennsylvania (DeFazio). Pittsburgh hosted the first national conference on green jobs, “Good Jobs, Green Jobs,” in March of 2008. One of the speakers was Gov. Rendell, who said “What our economy is going to look like for the next 25 to 50 years may well be decided in the next five years. The future is right at our doorstep. We have to make sure that it gets done” (Togneri)

In another conference session it was pointed out that:

A 2006 study showed that 22 different sectors of the U.S. economy contain green-collar work. In Berkeley, these jobs paid more than double California’s minimum wage. (Olopade)

In a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee meeting last September, University of California Berkeley professor Daniel Kammen testified:

If the entire country required 20 percent of all electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, his August study reveals that more jobs would be created than if a comparable investment were made in fossil fuel energy sources.

That same study showed that ambitious global warming legislation in California could create more than 89,000 new jobs in the state and help increase the gross state product by as much as $74 billion by 2020.

“An economy built around a suite of low-carbon technologies can be resistant to price shocks, as well as secure against supply disruptions,” said Kammen, director of Berkeley’s Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. “Green jobs can accrue across the entire economy, from laboratory research and development positions to traditionally unionized work in plumbing, electrical wiring and civil engineering.” (McGowan)

Another speaker was Edward Mazria, an architect whose ideas are supported by the American Institute of Architects, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the U.S. Green Building Council. Among his comments:

a one-year investment of $21.6 billion targeted to increasing energy efficiency in the building sector would produce 216,000 permanent jobs, trim CO2 emissions by 86.7 million metric tons annually, and save consumers $8.5 billion in energy bills. Extend that level of investment for five years, he says, and we’d create more than 1 million permanent jobs and save 433.5 MMT annually. (Tischler)

Training is a serious issue. In North Shore Community College in Massachusetts has given faculty a monetary award for including environmental training in their courses (Lazar). The Bucks County Community College has a Sustainable Building Supervisor certificate program.

Representatives of the American Wind Energy Association and the Renewable Energy Policy Project, and the Solar Energy Industries Association all say the market is growing but want tax breaks and training incentives, such as those offered to the oil industry. Tax breaks already in existence are set to expire at the end of this year.

”Already companies that have invested millions of dollars in this industry are getting nervous,” said Randall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind Energy Association. (Skoloff)

A study by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory found similar results, that the lack of a skilled workforce is the greatest non-technical obstacle to using new technologies (“Strange bedfellows”)

The District of Columbia has hired a non-profit, D.C. Green Works, to plan green roofs on some city-owned buildings. The mayor has also launched a green-jobs initiative and will create a green-collar training program. New York and Oakland also have training programs, some of which accept former prisoners and underprivileged youth (Baetke). Richland, California works with a non-profit, Solar Richmond, to train residents in solar panel installation. Chicago is home to Green Corps, which trains people to set up and maintain community gardens. It also targets low-income residents and former prisoners. Portland is also drafting tougher construction standards and expects to run into labor shortages soon (Gentile)

Note this statement from:

In California, there already aren’t enough solar installers to keep up with demand. Wind-energy producers are having a hard time finding trained turbine technicians, says Bruce Hamilton, director of operations at PPM Energy, a subsidiary of Scottish Power with more than a dozen wind farms in operation or under construction around the country: “There’s going to be a fight for labor.” (Baker)

If there is going to be a fight for labor we should make an effort to have qualified people here in Pennsylvania. Jobs and industry will follow. Pennsylvania has made some headway but needs to put more resources into this effort. Passing the bills currently bottlenecked in the Senate would certainly help.


Sources:

Anastasi, John, “Murphy: the Senate must act,” Bucks County Courier Times 5/27/08

Baetke, James. “Green-collar jobs mushrooming,” Erie Times-News 11/11/07

Baker, Linda, “I’m bad! I’m slick!,” Fast Company May 2008.

Case, David, “A mighty wind,” Fast Company June 2008

Chase, Stacey, “Recession-resistant careers: even when the economy sous, the luck workers in these fields are in demand,” Boston Globe 6/01/08

DeFazio, John and Kim Anderson, “Bill fosters clean air, jobs,” Scranton Tribune 12/11/07

English, Chris, “Panel to present green building ordinance,” Phillyburbs 6/08/08

Friedman, Thomas L, “The green-collar solution,” New York Times 10/17/07

Gentile, Annie, “Conservation creates ‘green collar’ jobs, “American City & County 123 #2 (March 2008)

Green, Elwin, “Earth, wind, and hire – first national conference on green jobs opens here tomorrow,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 3/12/08

Hamilton, Tyler, “Seeking a new place in the sun” struggling auto-parts maker Woodbine is taking on work for solar-tech firm Menova,” Toronto Star 5/24/08

Hartke, David, “Documenting a sustainable home,” Sustainable Home 9/01/06

Lazar, Kay, “Firms creating ‘green-collar’ jobs: good business, environment mix,” Boston Globe 2/21/08

McGowan, Elizabeth, ”Senate panel: green switch won’t be easy,” Waste News 13 #12 (10/15/07)

MacMillan, Douglas, “Switching to green-collar jobs,” Business Week Online 1/10/08

Napsha, Joe, “Rallygoers push renewable energy as way to create jobs,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Reivew 6/01/08

Olopade, Dayo, “Manufacturing plant,” New Republic 238 #8 (05/07/08)

Papu, Sridhar, “Politicians power up with ‘green-collar’ workers,” Washington Post 1/23/08

Skoloff, Brian, “Renewable energy industry holds hope for jobs,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 2/10/08

“Strange bedfellows,” Material Handling Management 63 #5 (May 2008).

Tischler, Linda, “The eco-home of tomorrow,” Fast Company July/August 2008

Togneri, Chris, “Hope builds for ‘greener’ skyline,” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review