One of the fearmongering tactics that oil companies have used in the past about relying on alternative energy "too quickly" is that many people would be out of work. Well when you shut down a refinery there are job losses, but so many opportunities can come from it when you add in clean energy sources, conservation and recycling. California has proven that over the last thirty years since they instituted energy-efficient guidelines, much to the dismay of the fossil fuel industry.
From The NY Times:
OAKLAND, Calif. — California’s energy-efficiency policies created nearly 1.5 million jobs from 1977 to 2007, while eliminating fewer than 25,000, according to a study to be released Monday.
The study, conducted by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, found that while the state’s policies lowered employee compensation in the electric power industry by an estimated $1.6 billion over that period, it improved compensation in the state over all by $44.6 billion.
Built into that figure were increases of $1.2 billion in the light industrial sector, $11.2 billion in wholesale and retail trade, $7.3 billion in the financial and insurance sectors and $17.8 billion in the service sector.
“Consumers were able to reduce energy spending,” the study said, adding that “these savings were diverted to other demand.”
Imagine that! If we didn't shove piles of money into Big Oil's hands we'd have more to spend on the larger economy. Well it doesn't take an economist to figure that out, but showing us just how much of an impact environmental regulation can have is truly impressive. Van Jones isn't kidding when he talks about the Green-Collared Economy. Not only can we help save our planet, but we can slowly reshape our petro-based world into an eco-friendly globe.
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