Green Jobs Growing

Thanks to Grist for pointing the way to a fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute showing that clean energy, already a job-creation engine, will soon rev even higher:

• Energy efficiency now employs 8 million, and renewable energy 450,000, in the U.S. • Renewable energy creates more jobs per megawatt of power installed, unit of energy produced, and dollar invested than fossil energy. • Generating 20 percent of U.S. electricity from new renewable energy by 2020 will add 185,000 new jobs, while cumulatively reducing utility bills $10.5 billion and increasing rural landowner income by $26.5 billion. • A national light vehicle efficiency standard of 35 mpg by 2018 will create 241,000 jobs, including 23,900 in the automotive sector, while saving consumers $37 billion in 2020 alone. • The Massachusetts clean energy sector employs 14,000 and will soon be the state's 10th largest economic sector. • Washington state's 15 percent renewable energy standard will result in a net increase of 1,230 jobs in-state. • California's Million Solar Roof Initiative will generate 15,000 jobs there. • Germany employs 214,000 in renewable energy, including 64,000 in wind. • Denmark's wind industry employs 20,000 and Spain's 35,000. • U.S. wind power was responsible for 16,000 direct jobs and 36,800 total jobs in 2006. •

Not to mention which, renewables revive communities.

Julia Whitty is Mother Jones' environmental correspondent. You can read from her new book, The Fragile Edge, and other writings, here.

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