With the economy lagging in recovery, and the environment suffering catastrophe's at an alarming and accelerating rate, our problems as a nation and as a people are becoming more intertwined each day. These problems do not have to involve complex solutions or complications from outside the people's government from corporate interests. Green Job investment at the federal level can work as a permanent panacea for our economic, environmental, and geopolitical woes that are plaguing our country. These problems were created by a combination of apathy and fear bestowed upon us by our corporate leaders and their cronies in Washington.
We were told to believe in "free trade" and "tax cuts" as an option for delivering wealth and happiness. The theory of free-trade has brought us from the leading creditor nation in 1977 to the largest debtor nation this world has seen. It has outsourced key manufacturing jobs overseas and left american workers in a constant race to the bottom with the third world. Tax cuts have brought us ballooning deficits and have only benefited those in the top income tax bracket.
A Green Jobs Investment and Manufacturing Act the size of the Obama stimulus bill could do for this country what the New Deal did back in the 1930's. Immediate government creation of solar power plants and grids extending from the big cities to the suburbs is a good place to start. Rooftop solar panels on skyscrapers and solar farms in the open areas could replace carbon based fuels almost overnight. There are also lots of abandoned buildings due to the economic situation. Big box stores could be reconstructed to become solar energy plants and community centers as well. People can come and learn how their energy is created and also learn about conservation issues within their own communities. These ideas seem lofty but they could all be done with present technologies and simple human compassion.
Solarizing this nation would also create more permanent jobs along with educating people in sustainable living. It is proven that clean energy investment will create more jobs per 1 million dollars spent than fossil fuel based jobs. The Political Economy Research Institute from UMass Amherst came up with this table to show what their research found:
According to this study, clean energy job investment would create more jobs in all education levels than fossil fuel job investment. This tells us that green job investment will not only resolve our environmental issues over time, but it will also make permanent a sector of jobs for american workers. Our economy would be stimulated from all angles including employment, education, manufacturing, and sustainability.
These projects would also get us away from the fossil fuel wars we have engaged in recently. However the facts may have been fixed, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are largely based on access to significant oil reserves. Those wars are costing our country upwards of a trillion dollars at this point in time from 2001 when they were initiated. Too many people have lost their lives to these wars and the negative effects on this country will be dealt with for a long while. With an investment in clean energy we can stick to our own energy reserves on our own soil and never, ever have to see another human being lose their life to an oil war.
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