A new report says millions of workers in the U.S. will benefit from a green economy… and many workers already have the skills to make the jump to clean energy jobs.
The National Resources Defense Council, a coalition of environmental organizations, has released a report titled “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy.” The paper, put together by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, takes a look at the potential of green jobs in 12 key states. This press release from the NRDC says the state-by-state report looks at existing jobs skills and how those skills will translate into clean energy jobs:
“Achieving a clean energy economy through green industries like wind and solar are just part of the story. This report is also about job security. Making homes and offices more energy efficient not only saves money and energy, but also represents growth opportunities for workers who build our communities and keep them running,” said Dan Lashof, director of NRDC’s Climate Center. “We’re talking about jobs at every skill level from construction to research, already available here at home.”
Hundreds of thousands of workers in the U.S. already possess the vast majority of skills and occupations necessary to reduce global warming and make the shift to a clean energy economy. For instance, constructing wind farms creates jobs for sheet metal workers, machinists and truck drivers, among many others. Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings through retrofitting relies on roofers, insulators and electricians, to name a few.
“Everyone is talking about how the transition to a clean energy future will create millions of new ‘green-collar’ jobs,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the Sierra Club. “This report shows that millions of Americans are already working in exactly the kinds of jobs we’ll need to build that clean energy future. Those millions and millions more—from steelworkers to software engineers—stand to benefit from implementing the clean energy solutions we need to fight global warming.”
The report breaks down the clean energy climates of 12 states: Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The full text of the report is available here.
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Siemens Energy has announced it will open a wind research and development center in Colorado.
“We are very pleased to establish our first wind turbine R&D competence center in Boulder. The proximity of important institutions such as NREL and the NWTC, as well as the support received from the State of Colorado and the City of Boulder, make Boulder the perfect location for a R&D center in the U.S.,” Randy Zwirn, head of Siemens’ Energy Sector in the U.S., said in a statement.
Iowa-based Renewable Energy Group is buying the large assets of U.S. Biodiesel Group… a move that is expected to greatly enhance REG’s ability to distribute biodiesel on the West Coast and the Texas Gulf Coast.
I know that this wine cup of mine isn’t going to fuel a vehicle but it’s an example of one of the other uses of corn here at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference in Kansas City, MO. 
Colorado Corn Growers Association
“We at the United States Department of Agriculture have plotted the long-term trends of price, yield, availability and consumption; and as we’ve looked at those long-term trends we are anticipating this year an over 40 percent increase in food price inflation globally, 43 percent approximately,” Schafer said. “Of that, we can identify 2 to 3 percent of that price increase that is driven by biofuels. The majority of course is energy, and the second largest piece, or about equal piece, is the increase in consumption around the world which is using up the production stocks.”
Even the FAO admits that biofuels are only one factor in rising food costs. According to the FAO Biofuels Factsheet for the conference, “Demand from biofuel production is one cause of increasing food prices, but poor harvests in certain key exporting countries, low stock levels, high energy costs and increasing food demand due to rapid economic growth in some countries have also all contributed. It is the coincidence of all of these factors which has led to the dramatic increase in food prices, and which makes it difficult to estimate the precise impact of any single factor.“
Last year’s conference in St. Petersburg attracted more than 450 participants and Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson believes this year’s conference will be even bigger and better. 
“Addressing issues of food security is a matter of great importance that cannot be taken lightly. As world leaders meet in Rome this week to discuss the price and availability of food worldwide, it is critical they examine all factors impacting food equally and without prejudice,” Dinneen said in a statement. “They must agree on solutions that do not derail the one industry that has significantly reduced oil consumption, while having little overall impact on the price of food – biofuels.”
Dinneen says he believes representatives from the United States at the conference, including Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer, will do a good job in addressing the misinformation about biofuels that has been causing global concerns.