A Global Perspective on the Relationship between the Environment and the Economy
The global economy is in a state of disorder and uncertainty. The effects of the worldwide recession are staggering; according to the World of Work Report 2009: The Global Jobs Crisis and Beyond, “the jobs crisis is much larger in size than unemployment figures suggest…in the 51 countries for which data are available, at least 20 million jobs have been lost since October 2008 when the financial crisis started,” (International Labour Organization/International Institute for Labour Studies vii). Thus, the world is in greater need of job creation than ever before.
As the World Development Report 2010 states, “The financial crisis brings both challenges and opportunities to clean energy….stimulus investments in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and mass transit can create jobs and build an economy’s productive capacity,” (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 190). That is to say, an environmentally conscious agenda can generate employment opportunities. The report provides evidence of this, citing that “In 2006 the renewable energy industry created 2.3 million jobs worldwide (directly or indirectly), and energy efficiency added 8 million jobs in the United States,” (The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank 192). The jobs described as being created directly and indirectly of the renewable energy industry are often referred to as green jobs, and the aforementioned statistics provide insight into how beneficial these jobs can be to global, national, and local economies.
What are Green Jobs?
This question has become increasingly important in the past few years, but it is very difficult to answer simply because, currently, there is no generally accepted definition. Instead, we can only define green jobs in terms of scenarios.
There are the traditional definitions of green jobs, the careers most people think of when asked which professions are most beneficial to the environment. Ecologists, environmental activists or engineers, even employees of federal organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency all spring to mind. For many analysts, however, the phrase “green jobs” can also include “green collar jobs” or, “employment opportunities that presumably would not have been created without the energy efficiency (EE) programs” (Wei et al. 920). In other words,
A green collar job is both 1) a job in an environmental field that contributes directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality and 2) A good job — one that provides family-sustaining wages, safe working conditions and chances for career advancement. Green collar jobs offer benefits (including pensions and health care, and paid sick leave), safe working conditions, and the right to organize” (“Fact Sheet: Growing Green Collar Jobs”).
With this intriguing concept in mind, green jobs can then expand to include skilled and unskilled laborers: the hundreds of workers employed in factories that produce solar panels or wind turbines or compact fluorescent light bulbs, which would then include those on the assembly lines, the janitors, the bookkeepers, the secretaries, the mechanical engineers, and many more.
For example, in a table to the left appearing in the article entitled “Environmental protection, the economy, and jobs: National and regional analyses,” an in-depth breakdown of a standard wind turbine manufacturing company is provided. As the authors explain, “All of these employees owe their jobs and livelihoods to EP, but, in general, they perform the same types of activities at work as employees in firms that have little or nothing to do with the environment” (Bezdek et al. 70). The data found in the table demonstrates the large variety of workers needed in a relatively small establishment; only 250 employees work at this model company.
This article also contains the chart on the right to further emphasize the point that employment opportunities are not just arising in science-based fields. Clearly, the number of jobs for secretaries and bookkeepers created in the United States in 2003 by environmental expenditures greatly outweighs the number of jobs created for various types of engineers and scientists. In fact, according to the bar graph, the number of positions created for secretaries amounts to nearly 100,000.
However, Bezdek, Wendling, and DiPerna also introduce a noteworthy caveat. They state:
- Most analysts would consider jobs in a recycling plant to be environmental jobs. But what if the recycling plant itself produces air pollution? What about a firm in North Carolina that produces emissions control equipment for power plants in Alabama? It seems clear that the jobs in the North Carolina company should be considered green or environmental jobs, even though the user of the equipment in Alabama may cause pollution in North Carolina. What about environmental engineers and environmental controls specialists working in a coal-fired power plant? What about the workers who produce environmental control equipment for the plant? (68).
These questions are part of the reason why green jobs remain so ambiguous. Can we claim that professions that cause pollution even as they attempt to combat it are truly green jobs? While scholars continue to struggle with this, for the purposes of our research, our group will allow the broader definition to suffice. After all, even those performing the “purer” green jobs like environmentalists and ecologists have some impact on the environment.
Recognition of the Importance of Green Jobs
Although we may not be able to entirely eliminate the impact industry has upon the environment, creating more green jobs can somewhat alleviate the problems we cause. Unfortunately, many people do not see the benefits of environmentally friendly green collar jobs. For this reason, it behooves us to expand the green job industry so that people recognize that they can earn a living and help the environment simultaneously. One major step forward for this campaign occurred in December 2007 when President Bush signed the Green Jobs Act, an act that authorizes $125 million to train workers for green collar jobs (“What Are Green-Collar Jobs?”).
More recently, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has come to recognize the importance of green jobs with the help of U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. According to DOL’s database, “On January 20, 2010, [they] announced nearly $190 million in State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants as authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). The State Energy Sector Partnership and Training Grants are designed to teach workers the skills required in emerging industries, including energy efficiency and renewable energy,” (“Good Jobs, Safe Jobs, Green Jobs”). As training for green collar jobs becomes more widespread, it is clear that this can be a viable option for job creation.
Where can we Create Green Jobs in NYC?
Now that we have more of an idea of what a green job could be, we must ask ourselves, “Where can we create green jobs in our urban community, New York City?” According to J. Mijin Cha and Jack Dafoe of an organization called Urban Agenda, there are five green sectors that will be able to offer green-collar job employment in the very near future. They are 1) energy efficiency and renewable energy, 2) urban forestry, 3) green product development and manufacturing, 4) transportation, and 5) environmental monitoring and remediation (Cha and Dafoe 11). However, before we can identify the possible green jobs created by each sector or the requirements for potential employees, we must fully understand the role of each of the aforementioned sectors environmentally and economically.
We will focus on the green product development and manufacturing sector, the urban forestry sector, and the environmental monitoring and remediation sector. For more information regarding energy efficiency and renewable energy, please view our colleagues’ database entitled Power Sources. For more information regarding transportation, please view our colleagues’ database entitled Transportation.
Sources
Bezdeka, Roger H., Robert M. Wendlinga, and Paula DiPerna. “Environmental protection, the economy, and jobs: National and regional analyses.” Journal of Environmental Management 86 (2008): 63–79. Web. 8 March 2010.
Cha, J. Mijin and Jack Dafoe. “New York City Green-Collar Jobs Roadmap.” Center for American Progress/Urban Agenda, 27 Oct. 2009, <http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/10/nyc_green_jobs.html>. Web. 18 Mar. 2010.
“Fact Sheet: Growing Green Collar Jobs.” Urban Agenda, < http://www.urbanagenda.org/greenworkforce.htm>. Web. 14 Apr. 2010
“Good Jobs, Safe Jobs, Green Jobs.” DOL.gov. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), n.d. Web. 6 Apr. 2010.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. World Development Report 2010. Washington DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank, 2010.
International Labour Organization/International Institute for Labour Studies. World of Work Report 2009: The Global Jobs Crisis and Beyond. Geneva, Switzerland: International Institute for Labour Studies, 2009.
Wei, Max, Shana Patadia, and Daniel M. Kammen. “Putting renewables and energy efficiency to work: How many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US?” Energy Policy 38 (2010): 919–931. Web. 24 Feb. 2010.
“What Are Green-Collar Jobs?” Greenforall.org. Green for All, 2010, <http://www.greenforall.org/green-collar-jobs> Web. 6 Apr. 2010.
Index
