Clean Energy Springfield

One of the issues that's always lurking around the topic of environmentalism is: What does it mean for jobs? At the Step It Up panel discussion the other night, we got some tough questioning from someone currently unemployed, who's living on the streets. (I think he was with Homeless United for Change, though I could be wrong.) He wanted to know how what we were talking about was going to help him get a job.

Sadly, I don't think anyone had a good answer. At this point, CES has a general sense, I think, that relocalizing our energy supply--focusing more on efficiency and using the energy within our borders--is a better long-term strategy for jobs than building huge power plants every couple of decades. (And this doesn't even get into the issue of buying more locally for everything else.)

However, I don't think any of us have spent the time that the issue deserves, which is too bad, because employment is always going to be a predominant driver of political and economic decisions. We have to get better about making the case for green collar jobs--the jobs that span blue and white collar groups and that provide employment by protecting or improving the environment. We also have to get better about reaching out to employment-driven groups--the unions, but also the NAACP, Black Chamber of Commerce, the other Chamber of Commerce, and HUC.

I think we have the potential for a good message here. We just have to nail it, and then bring it out to people.

ALSO: I drifted away from my questioner, which is bad of me, but probably to be expected, since I don't have any good answer for him. The only answers I have are long-term and structural, and he quite rightly said that people have been making promises about the future for forever, and he's still out of work. What's more, at this point, we're not even talking to him. Read the paragraphs above, and it's probably apparent to you that I'm talking to people like myself--educated, upper middle class bureaucrats and technocrats. I'm not going to feel bad about who I am, but I do recognize the limitations this puts on us, having me as our public face.