White collar, blue collar and now, “green collar.”
The emerging environmental job market and sustainable businesses were the focus of the “Alternative Energy and the American Worker” panel co-sponsored by Northwestern Community Development Corps and One Book One Northwestern on Wednesday night. Part of the Undergraduate Lecture Series on Race, Poverty, and Inequality, the event highlighted the possibility for economic stimulus through jobs in the green business sector.
Scott Bernstein, president and co-founder of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, researches the economic consequences of carbon-producing activities in urban areas. He discussed the importance of engaging in a green economy locally. He suggested weatherization, the refurbishing of homes so they are more energy efficient, could create between 50,000 and 100,000 jobs in the greater Chicago area in any season.
Bernstein recently collaborated on the Chicago Climate Action Plan under Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Availability of local amenities can drive down the environmental impact of a particular community, he said. But for members of a community to be motivated, they must recognize the economic benefit, he said.
“You have to help them see how much better their building and living costs could be if they could get there,” Bernstein said.
Panelist Kindy Kruller discussed her work as an associate at the Delta Institute, an organization that promotes energy-efficient businesses and sustainable economic development in the Great Lakes Region.
She said the biggest economic opportunity today is in “greening” existing buildings. Kruller said national research estimates there are up to 1 million potential jobs in a “green” economy.
“What we can do is take our assets around manufacturing and the economic prosperity that used to be in this region and capitalize on it,” Kruller said.
Adrian Esquivel presented on behalf of the Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative, which works to create a greener economy in Chicago through labor, local businesses and universities. The initiative recently released a report outlining the potential and limitations for Chicago’s green economy.
“What can we all do to promote quality green collar jobs and move forward?” Esquivel said.
Green collar jobs in the Chicago area could provide a livable wage, build a strong middle class, provide paths out of poverty and preserve positions noteasily be outsourced, Esquivel said.
Prof. Mark Witte, who teaches Public Finance and Natural Resource Economics, said pollution is a problem in which perpetrating industries don’t have to pay for their environmental impact.
“If you want to pollute, you have to pay equivalent to the damage you’re causing,” Witte said.
The recently passed Waxman-Markey bill, which sets national standards of energy efficiency and carbon emissions for industries, is a step in the right direction, Witte said. Weinberg senior Anna Kelly, co-chair of the NCDC Undergraduate Lecture Series, said she and her co-chair proposed the idea for the discussion in light of recent national attention focused on a “greener” economy.
“The American Clean Energy and Security Act saw a lot of attention this summer in Washington,” Kelly said. “We wanted to see what this is going to do for the local community.”
Her lecture series co-Chair Michael Waxman, a Weinberg junior, also wanted to highlight the recent political focus on green jobs, alternative energy and climate change.
“We thought it would be a great time to discuss how this legislation will specifically impact workers in this country,” Waxman said. [email protected]
