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 In recent years, issues associated with climate change and the supply of affordable energy resources have received heightened attention. Former Vice President Al Gore helped to popularize the issue with his award-winning documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.” As a part of his challenge to repower America, he stated --
“There are times in the history of our nation when our very way of life depends upon dispelling illusions and awakening to the challenge of a present danger. In such moments, we are called upon to move quickly and boldly to shake off complacency, throw aside old habits and rise, clear-eyed and alert, to the necessity of big changes. Those who, for whatever reason, refuse to do their part must either be persuaded to join the effort or asked to step aside. This is such a moment. The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more - if more should be required - the future of human civilization is at stake.” – Al Gore
 The issue, the push of energy independence, in a nutshell is associated with three factors: (1) conventional energy sources, such as coal and other commonly used fuels, when burned, generate greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global warming e.g., warmer temperatures, melting icecaps, bizarre weather patterns and other environmental imbalances; (2) there are growing concerns about the long-term availability, accessibility and affordability of oil and other petro-products; and (3) Americans need new jobs and a new manufacturing base – the nation has lost over 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2000; thus, innovation in the field of energy holds great promise for the American workforce.
Patterns of global consumption, the finite nature of oil as a resource, America’s over-reliance on foreign oil which is concentrated in areas experiencing great unrest and conflict, astounding trade deficits driven by an insatiable American appetite for oil, and our failure to comprehensively launch alternative technologies and energy efficiency strategies make a difficult situation worse.
Congressman Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks have written a book, Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean Energy Economy, which notes that in 2005, “the United States spent a staggering $200,000 a minute on foreign oil. In fact, oil imports represent the largest single contributor to our spiraling national trade deficit, which set a record in 2005 of over $791 billion . . . from August 2004 to July 2006, the petroleum-related trade deficit accounted for 80 percent of the deepening overall deficit.”
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 : “Green-collar job”
– Source, Van Jones, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems (2008) –
- Blue-collar employment that has been upgraded to better respect the environment
- Family-supporting, career-track, vocational, or trade-level employment in environmentally-friendly fields
- Examples: electricians who install solar panels; plumbers who install solar water heaters; farmers engaged in organic agriculture or bio-fuel production; and construction workers who build energy-efficient green buildings, wind power farms, solar farms and wave energy farms.
RELEVANT  & PUBLICATIONS
Jay Inslee and Bracken Hendricks,
Apollo’s Fire: Igniting America’s Clean Energy Economy (Island Press, 2008)
Van Jones,
The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems (Harper One, 2008) |
