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Melissa Hincha-Ownby

California green jobs grow by 36%

A new report released by Next 10 shows that California green jobs grew by 36% between 1995 and 2008.
Tue, Dec 15 2009 at 12:55 PM EST
Read more: GREEN ECONOMY, GREEN JOBS, RENEWABLE ENERGY

Photo: slettvet/Flickr
California is one of the nation’s top green job producing states. This should come as no surprise, not only because of the state’s overall population, but also because California has always been a forward thinker when it comes to environmental legislation. A new report from Next 10 shows that green jobs increased by 36 percent in the state between 1995 and 2008 compared to overall job growth of only 13 percent.
 
The report went a step further and looked at how green jobs fared during the economic downturn. The recession began in December 2007 and while overall unemployment in California fell by 1 percent in 2007-2008, green jobs continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace — 5 percent.
 
There were some surprising figures in the Many Shades of Green: Diversity and Distribution of California’s Green Jobs (PDF) report, most notably the fact that the Sacramento area experienced the biggest growth in green jobs between 1995 and 2008. Sacramento and neighboring cities experienced an 87 percent overall green job growth with a 157 percent increase in air and environment jobs and a 141 percent increase in renewable energy generation jobs.
 
Air and environment jobs consist of environmental consulting and remediation as well as emissions monitoring and control. The state’s stringent emissions standards have provided good, green jobs to thousands in the state. Job growth in this segment remained relatively steady between 1995-2005 but jumped by 24 percent between 2005 and 2008.
 
Although Sacramento is California’s capital city, I expected the San Francisco Bay area to lead green job growth in the state. Even though the Bay area didn’t see the highest growth rate, it is the region with the most green jobs — nearly 42,000. Of these 42,000, about 7,000 are in the energy generation segment, with most of those in solar-related fields.
 
Green jobs aren’t just limited to major metropolitan areas like Sacramento and the Bay Area. The San Joaquin Valley, an area with a long farming tradition, experienced a 48 percent increase in green job growth between 1995 and 2008. Most of these jobs are the result of wind energy projects in the area.
 
After reading through this report, I implore green jobs naysayers to take another look at the benefits of a green economy. Green jobs are in demand and can play an important role in the economic recovery of the nation.
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Comments(14)

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Posted By LEED - Sat, Jan 16 2010 at 10:29 PM EST

http://www.cleanedison.com/

I want to thank CleanEdison for accomodating my organization by providing a customized Operations and Maintenance training around our property management portfolio. Not only did we get a feel for LEED O&M, but the instructor was able to apply the material to the buildings we work with every day.

Posted By shamimsam - Sun, Jan 10 2010 at 1:50 PM EST

LEED exam prep now in Calefornia

I took the GA course with CleanEdison last week. Great instructor, great materials. Very confident in test preparation. Highly recommend course.

Posted By Jeremy - Sun, Dec 20 2009 at 2:44 AM EST

Green job ended my unemployment

"Green jobs are in demand and can play an important role in the economic recovery of the nation."

Yes, I agree. After taking BPI certification and Energy Audit Training from CleanEdison, I was able to secure a job that ended my 9 months of unemployment.

http://www.cleanedison.com/energy-audit.html

Posted By Melissa Hincha-Ownby - Sun, Dec 20 2009 at 11:44 PM EST

Congratulations

Congratulations on your new job Jeremy!

Posted By Getreal - Thu, Dec 17 2009 at 6:12 PM EST

Tunnel vision

As U.S. Citizens we tend to forget that corporate greed is one of the reasons goods and services cost so much not just here but world wide
If corporations did not have the same rights as individuals, which they do if u do your historical research, then profit would not be the driving force behind our failing economic systems and outsourcing wouldn't even be an issue. Moreover since we now live in a global economy, communist china will continue to manufacture the majority of the products we.... More

Posted By merchant solutions llc - Wed, Dec 16 2009 at 11:01 PM EST

how are we to benefit or sustain ourselves in the future if we d

how are we to benefit or sustain ourselves in the future if we do not change now? Green energy and green jobs are just another step to calming down the great influx of harmful pollutants that we have released on earth in the short time we have been here.
merchant solutions llc

Posted By e - Wed, Dec 16 2009 at 7:41 PM EST

e

To Prof. Sheffield: We are losing those jobs right now, we've been losing them for years now. It doesn't have anything to do with green jobs, it has to do with cost of labor in the US. Whether we have green jobs or not in the US, we are always going to have a hard time competing with China and India. The good thing about green jobs is that they are not as outsourceable as other manufacturing jobs.

Posted By Conscience - Wed, Dec 16 2009 at 4:47 AM EST

Think about it

If there is no conscience in the way that we treat the earth, how are we to benefit or sustain ourselves in the future if we do not change now? Green energy and green jobs are just another step to calming down the great influx of harmful pollutants that we have released on earth in the short time we have been here. Ignorance and the futile system of the old world are the only true barriers in the curbing of the environmental impact that we inflict………. There is no denying the increase of.... More

Posted By Tag44 - Wed, Dec 16 2009 at 2:38 AM EST

Tag44 Jobs

Thanks for the post and for sharing the very resourceful information related to green jobs in California.

Posted By Commiesmasher - Wed, Dec 16 2009 at 12:15 AM EST

obozo invents jobs?

windmills made by red china, installed by granollas.... makes green energy? it's a fake economy, broken window fallacy.

http://commiesmasher.blogspot.com/

Posted By Getreal - Thu, Dec 17 2009 at 6:18 PM EST

Are u kidding

Brilliant analysis did u figure this out all by yourself?

Posted By Anonymous - Tue, Dec 15 2009 at 11:39 PM EST

sigh

Is this post really trying to argue that by taxing businesses and redistributing the wealth through subsidies to other businesses that we are somehow creating wealth out of thin air?

Posted By Prof Sheffield - Tue, Dec 15 2009 at 11:19 PM EST

Flawed Analysis

Green jobs are heavily subsidized by state and federal grants as well as tax breaks. The DOE just give $508million to Fisker - one of Gore's investments. How much of the growth is simply due to subsidies.

I care about the environment, rah, rah, go team. But I don't put my brain on ice for it. At the end of the day, economics will pull like gravity. We loose manufacturing jobs to China because American workers want $30 - $40/hr plus benefits while a Chinese worker earns $2/day. How.... More

Posted By John WOods - Tue, Dec 15 2009 at 11:08 PM EST

Wowsers

Dude thats amazing stuff isnt it??

RT
www.total-privacy.es.tc

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