Republicans have been railing against Climate Change for
some time now, even thought environmentalism was originally something they were
behind. Republicans say it is a hoax, it is real but there is nothing we can do
about it so lets burn oil until we die, or they say Al Gore is fat. But one of
their arguments that holds more weight is that shutting down coal plants kills
jobs.
This is true. If we shut down a coal fired power plant it
will cost the jobs of those at the plant, the coal miners digging the coal out
of the ground, and the truck driver’s that transport the coal from mine to
power plant (not to mention a few steps we’re skipping for simplicity’s sake).
Unfortunately this is a fact that environmentalists were having trouble getting
around. It is easy to say the greater good of saving the planet outweighs the
finical loss that will occur to those that lose their jobs. It is easy to say
if constituents aren’t holding you accountable. But it is a hard reality to
deal with.
It has been easy to say green technology will costs jobs,
easy until now. This
article at Treehugger.com shows that a study by The Solar Foundation has found that
there are now more solar energy workers than coal miners. You may want to read
that statement again to let it sink in. Solar is an emerging market that is
still adding jobs while coal is doing the opposite.
Sure, if you look at total jobs that result from coal versus
solar, coal is still in the lead. And, again, comparing the two coal wins with
the higher overall salaries. But solar is gaining. And there will have to be
people to direct solar power and power plants. Truck drivers will still have to
haul supplies to sites to work on solar installation. But here is the kicker,
coal is limited; there is only so much to get out before we have to blow a
mountain up to get more. Solar power is raining down all of the time. As far as
we can tell it will never stop coming and if it does we will have other
problems than where to get a job.
As the coal jobs wind down we need something coming in to
the pick up these skilled workers and give them a chance to continue to make a
good earning and keep people’s lights on. Instead of fighting against green
jobs republicans need to start waving them into their states. There is no place
in the U.S. that remains untouched by the sun.
The blanket statement of “going green costs jobs” just isn’t
true anymore. We can save jobs, save the planet, free ourselves from foreign
energy, and fix the economy in one swoop.
Climate Change doesn’t need to be and shouldn’t be a
politically divisive issue.
