Earth Equity News

Study Forecasts 297,000 Green Jobs. By Kate Galbraith, NYTimes, March 27, 2009. "The debate over the potential for green jobs creation in this country continues. This week the Union of Concerned Scientists weighed in, with a report [PDF, 5 pp] that said that a national "renewable electricity standard" set at 25 percent by 2025 would translate into 297,000 new green jobs. A 'renewable electricity standard' refers to the objective of producing a certain percentage of the nation's electricity from sources like wind power, solar panels, wood chips and dams. President Obama has endorsed a 25-percent-by-2025 standard, and the issue is expected to be included in forthcoming energy legislation. Some jobs would be lost in fossil-fuel industries like coal or natural gas. If those are factored in, according to the report, the net number of jobs gained becomes 202,000. 'There were three times as many jobs produced in renewable energy than there would be if we followed a business as usual path and used more fossil fuel generation,' said Jeff Deyette, an analyst with the group's clean energy program."