Science and Jobs

Science has been in the news lately, what with the various stimulus initiatives that focus on green technology and energy, and as you'll notice in your syllabus, I've asked you to locate some science articles, either on the Internet or in newspapers and journals, to bring to class to share. I've been following the news on the hopeful partnerships that might be forged between science and a green economy. You can imagine my delight, then, when I found this interesting article, "A New Economy Has Already Begun." What really caught my eye was the connection that the author made between solving the jobs crisis (especially the exporting of jobs to other countries) with the climate and oil crises. Here, for example, the author explains the dyanamics of these new "green jobs":

"The Green Job Corps began at the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, inspired by Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy (Harper Collins, 2008). Green collar jobs are "career track jobs," says Van Jones. They're family-supporting gigs that contribute to preserving and enhancing the environment. Installation of solar panels, construction and maintenance of wind turbines, urban agriculture, tree planting in cities, weatherization and retrofitting of buildings, remediation of brownfields (cleaning up abandoned, often-contaminated industrial sites), recycling and reuse of materials - these are jobs that generate local revenue, save energy, clean the environment, and cannot be exported. For the first time in their lives, many impoverished youth are gaining a tangible stake in climate solutions." (Rockwell, 2009)

Could this be a solution for so many communities--to encourage energy autonomy and at the same time develop, subsidize, and implement green technologies locally? Does this sound like a plausible solution to you?