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Recovery in Action: Green Jobs Edition
Posted by on March 23, 2009 at 12:16 PM EDTToday the President is hosting an event focused on "Investing in Our Clean Energy Future," with experts from inside and outside government (watch his remarks live-streamed at 12:30). So it’s appropriate that this edition of Recovery in Action focus on green jobs, and given that Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of featured speakers, it’s also appropriate that we start off with an inspiring story out of Massachusetts.Erin Ailworth of the Boston Globe had an in-depth piece on the "Renewable job market":If you're readying a resume, it might help to use recycled paper. The clean-tech and green industries in Massachusetts are hiring.Companies looking to add employees include Aeronautica Windpower in Plymouth, lithium-ion battery maker Boston-Power Inc. in Westborough, and Conservation Services Group, also in Westborough. Eco-friendly experience is a plus, but not required.The workforce expansions are being partly spurred by the federal economic stimulus package, which includes billions for home energy-efficiency upgrades and an extension of a tax credit for renewable energy technologies such as wind power. Within the next two years, stimulus spending is expected to create or save 79,000 jobs in Massachusetts, and an estimated 3.5 million nationwide, according to the federal government.Soon after Congress passed the nearly $800 billion bill last month, Stephen Cowell, chief executive of Conservation Services Group, said he told his staff, "Get the resumes together." In the last six months, the energy-efficiency company has hired about 50 employees in its main office. Because of the stimulus bill as well as several new contracts, Cowell plans to add 200 more jobs this year. The company currently employs about 400 and does business in 22 states. At least 30 to 40 of the new jobs will be in Massachusetts, he said."We're sort of the tip of the iceberg," Cowell said. "A couple of hundred people will be hired here, but that means that 2,000 people will be hired at the local level to do the work that we spec out and help facilitate."It goes through company after company and industry after industry from there. And we’re off!Governor Mitch Daniels announced plans to distribute $132 million in federal stimulus funds for energy conservation. The money will go to weatherization projects for low income homeowners who are already a part of the state's energy assistance program. The program's budget will be expanded by a multiple of 11. Groups looking to do the work can apply beginning next week. "We will be looking for those organizations, non-profit in every case, who can make a good showing that they can achieve the most conservation, help the most Hoosier households per dollar spent in the shortest amount of time," said Gov. Daniels. Daniels said 2300 jobs will be created by the stimulus money.The federal economic stimulus will send Nevada about $37 million to weatherize buildings and homes and another $28 million to train workers for green jobs, Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford said Friday. The Senate Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee unanimously voted to move forward with Horsford’s bill, SB152, which would set guidelines for how to spend federal economic stimulus money meant to create "green jobs." Horsford said Nevada could get training for at least 3,200 unemployed or underemployed workers, and provide money to weatherize low-income housing, schools and public buildings.At the 25th annual Home Show, green is in… Among the traditional remodelers, homebuilders and lenders are signs proclaiming the rebates, tax incentives and money-saving offers on the next generation of green building products. Businesses are hoping the incentives, many of them introduced with the recent economic stimulus package, will draw consumers looking to build or renovate into what has been a slow market.In his latest effort to combat global warming, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to enlist the state's hard-luck youth. The governor on Monday announced the new California Green Corps, a statewide effort to train young adults between 16 and 24 years old to work in the state's fledgling green-tech industry. "It's the kind of program President Obama envisioned when he put together the economic stimulus package. It's all about jobs, jobs, jobs," Schwarzenegger said after touring a solar-installation certificate program at a Sacramento community college. The program will be administered by Schwarzenegger's volunteerism czar Karen Baker and will receive about $20 million in initial funding. Half the money will come from the U.S. Department of Labor as part of the federal stimulus package, while the other half is expected to be raised from the private sector. The idea is to create a 20-month pilot program in at least 10 locations to train at least 1,000 people for jobs such as solar-panel installation and sheet-metal manufacturing for wind turbines, Schwarzenegger said.Streaming Today
Posted by on March 23, 2009 at 10:37 AM EDTAt 11:00: The third Regional Forum of Health Reform, streamed over at HealthReform.gov. We’ll also host Rebecca Adelman of HHS, who live-blogged the initial White House Forum, covering this one as well here at WhiteHouse.govAt 12:30: The President speaks at a Green Jobs event here on the White House grounds, which we’ll be streaming at WhiteHouse.gov/live (as we do all his remarks here). He’ll be speaking to approximately 120 researchers, lab directors, and CEOs from start-up and established companies, focusing on the importance of investing in Research & Development so we can continue to develop and build the Clean Energy Economy here in the United States.Learn more about Energy and Environment, Health CareElectric
Posted by on March 19, 2009 at 2:51 PM EDTThe President just spoke at the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, California. The Center "provides a broad range of electric transportation services, focusing on solutions for automakers, battery manufacturers, government agencies, business and industrial fleet customers, residential customers and more" – a mission that dovetails perfectly with the President’s vision for green transportation and a green economy. The President explained that in addition to green jobs being a key element of the Recovery Act, it will be a focus of his economic blueprint throughout his presidency:And that is the forward-thinking purpose of the budget that I submitted to Congress. It's a budget that makes hard choices about where to save and where to spend; that makes overdue investments in education, health care and, yes, in energy -- investments that will catalyze innovation and industry, create green jobs, and launch clean renewable energy companies right here in California.
Over the next three years, we will double this nation's supply of renewable energy. We've also made the largest investment in basic research funding in American history -- an investment that will spur not only new discoveries in energy, but breakthroughs in science and technology. We will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power, advanced biofuels, clean coal, and fuel-efficient cars and trucks that are built right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
We will soon lay down thousands of miles of power lines that can create new energy in cities and towns across this country. And we will put Americans to work making homes and buildings more efficient so that we can save billions of dollars on our energy bill, just like you've done in California for decades. And we will put 1 million plug-in hybrid vehicles on America's roads by 2015. (Applause.)He went on to announce the availability of $2.4 billion in funding Americans to work producing next generation Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run. The initiative will create tens of thousands of jobs, and Americans who decide to purchase these Plug-in Hybrid vehicles can claim a tax credit of up to $7,500. He went on to announce that:- The Department of Energy is offering up to $1.5 billion in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce these highly efficient batteries and their components.
- The Department of Energy is offering up to $500 million in grants to U.S. based manufacturers to produce other components needed for electric vehicles, such as electric motors and other components.
- The Department of Energy is offering up to $400 million to demonstrate and evaluate Plug-In Hybrids and other electric infrastructure concepts -- like truck stop charging station, electric rail, and training for technicians to build and repair electric vehicles.
Learn more at Energy.gov/Recovery.

(President Barack Obama tours the Edison Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, California,
and examines hybrid vehicles. White House Photo, 3/19/09, Lawrence Jackson)Van Jones to CEQ
Posted by on March 10, 2009 at 12:37 PM EDTThe White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley announced yesterday that Van Jones – an early green jobs visionary -- will start Monday as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at CEQ:Van Jones has been a strong voice for green jobs and we look forward to having him work with departments and agencies to advance the President’s agenda of creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources. Jones will also help to shape and advance the Administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communitiesJones is the founder of Green For All, an organization focused on creating green jobs in impoverished areas. He is also the co-founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and Color of Change, and was the author of the 2008 New York Times best-seller, The Green Collar Economy.Watch Jones’ panel at the first official meeting of the Middle Class Task Force in Philadephia:{VIDEO|88}Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker profiled Jones in January:"Your goal has to be to get the greenest solutions to the poorest people," Jones told me. "That’s the only goal that’s morally compelling enough to generate enough energy to pull this transition off. The challenge is making this an everybody movement, so your main icons are Joe Six-Pack—Joe the Plumber—becoming Joe the Solar Guy, or that kid on the street corner putting down his handgun, picking up a caulk gun."Learn more about Economy, Energy and EnvironmentGreen Jobs: Watch the Panels
Posted by on March 9, 2009 at 4:01 PM EDTIt's now been a week and a half since the first meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, but the lessons are still sinking in. The ideas that emerged there will help inform the way in which the Vice President oversees the recovery act and the Administration transitions our economy toward a green future over the coming years.The panels alone are worth watching, certainly no less relevant or informative than the day were held, and give a good idea of the kind of vision the President and Vice President are hoping to implement.Green Jobs: What are They & How Can They Help the Middle Class
Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund; John Podesta, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for American Progress; Van Jones, President and founder of Green for AllCreating Green Opportunity: The Roles of Stakeholders
Governor Edward G. Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania; Mayor Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia; Leo Gerard, the International President of the Steelworkers of America; Cecilia Estolano, The Chief Executive Officer of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles; Mark Edlen, President of Gerding-Edlen, a Green DevelopmentLearn more about Economy, Energy and EnvironmentLiveblogging at AStrongMiddleClass.gov
Posted by on February 27, 2009 at 12:32 PM EDTThe Vice President and his team are in Philadelphia this morning for the first meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, and it's all about how green jobs -- jobs that help us move towards a growing, greener, cleaner economy -- can be an aid to the middle class.He makes the case in an op-ed appearing this morning in the Philadelphia Inquirer.Today's event should be really interesting. The Task Force is going to be meeting with the people who know this field the best -- the policy makers and entrepeneurs and advocates who are working together to figure out how to grow our economy and do what’s right for the environment at the same time, while making sure the middle class benefits.We're going to be liveblogging the event over at AStrongMiddleClass.gov -- thanks to Greg Nelson from the Office of Public Liaison, who's attending the meeting -- so check back throughout the day.Learn more about Economy, Energy and Environment
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