Report * USA - Converting to green economy creates jobs

Green jobs will flourish when the U.S. turns away form oil and coal in the battle against global warming...

Duluth,MIN,USA -The Duluth News-Tribune/Red Orbit -June 4, 2008: -- A recent U.S. Department of Energy report said it's possible to generate 20 percent of all U.S. electrical needs by 2030, up from 1.2 percent today, a move that would create nearly $1 trillion worth of economic activity around wind, said John Dunlop of the U.S. Wind Energy Association... The movement of giant wind turbines through the port of Duluth has created a boomlet of economic activity for the region, just the kind of clean, green jobs that will flourish when the U.S. turns away form oil and coal in the battle against global warming... That was the message Tuesday from leaders of environmental, labor and political groups who say U.S. action is needed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and push the nation’s economy toward green energy... The groups released "Job Opportunities for Green Economy,'' which looked at current jobs and potential in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia... Authors projected major increases in jobs for welders, electricians, electrical engineers, equipment operators and truck drivers, saying most of the jobs needed in the transition to new energies already exist... The action comes as the U.S. Senate for the first time is debating whether the federal government should regulate human-caused greenhouse gases such as carbon and methane that many scientist say are contributing to a warming climate worldwide... Supporters say installing a cap on greenhouse gasses and then allowing a free-market trade of carbon credits will spur investment in renewable energy... Opponents say enacting emissions regulations will stifle the economy and hammer consumers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday called the Senate climate regulation bill a misguided effort that will cost U.S. consumers between $1,000 and $6,700 annually in increased energy and transportation costs... The report was compiled by Robert Pollin and Jeanette Wicks-Lim at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and commissioned by Natural Resources Defense Council. It is part of the Green Jobs for America Campaign, a partnership of the Sierra Club, Blue Green Alliance, United Steelworkers, Natural Resources Defense Council and with the Center for American Progress and Green for All... (Photo: NEWS TRIBUNE - Longshoremen prepare for a container holding wind turbine parts to be lift3ed off the BBC India at the Duluth Seaway Port Authority's Clure Public Marine Terminal Berth No. 1, operated by Lake Superior Warehousing Co.)