GM Gives A Taste Of Green Jobs In America

For far too long our automotive industry has been woefully behind the rest of the world when it comes to innovation and ways of dealing with climate change. It isn't that we aren't capable of it but more aptly that no one has stepped up to fund the large-scale projects that will propel us into the 21st century, whether that be private industry or the government. Finally, the old stalwart GM is starting to see the error of their ways and is not only talking about alternative energy but building the facilities right here at home to make it happen.

From CBS News:

(AP) General Motors Corp. said Thursday it will build a new factory in Flint to make four-cylinder engines for the Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car and other models.

GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said the new plant will build a 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that will extend the range of the Volt, and a turbocharged version that will power the Chevrolet Cruze, a new compact car to be built in Lordstown, Ohio.

"This will be one of the places. You will be one of the teams that help GM lead into our second century," Wagoner told workers and government officials gathered for the announcement.

Production at the new $370 million plant will begin in 2010, and both cars are slated to go on sale in the same year.

This is excellent news out of Michigan. For far too long we have lost jobs in this area and across the country because our leadership has failed to foster an environment that creates 21st century jobs. We cannot merely subsist on a retail economy by itself. America was made great by manufacturing and now it is being torn apart by greedy financiers that hedge their bets on housing market bubbles that were bound to burst, made worse only because the government is deliberating on how much of the taxpayer's money should pay for Wall Street's losses.

Last night before the debate a few friends of mine were talking about the economy and what to do with money put away in bonds and mutual funds. My answer for them is the same I tell everyone who is looking for solid investments with a long-term gain. Go green! Put your money in companies that are building wind and solar plants. Rechargeable cars, geo-thermal energy, anything that helps reduce our carbon pollution is a win.

The value of this budding industry is nothing compared to what it will be once we force ourselves off of oil, both foreign and domestic. Fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil and Shell are blocking green efforts today, but slowly we are turning the tide. Down the road (no pun intended) we will be driving zero-emission vehicles and powering our houses without a coal power plant at the beginning of the transmission line. Getting in on this today is a smart move, for one's savings and the planet as a whole.