Can Green Jobs Save the Economy?

By Phil Izzo

As the U.S. continues to hemorrhage jobs, Americans are looking for hope, and one of the key ideas put forward by the Obama administration is the promise of “green jobs” in industries focused on the environment.

San Jose, Calif., Mayor Chuck Reed is on the front lines of the battle for clean technology and other sectors that aim to support the environment. In a recent interview he pointed out a major challenge: “We’ve got to create not just green jobs but green careers.”
Obama makes remarks about investments in clean energy and new technology in Washington. In the foreground is the Solyndra Solar Panel. (Associated Press)

The administration is thinking about that, but it may be difficult to achieve. A lot of projects such as weatherization and environmental cleanup could be limited in their potential. A big chunk of the stimulus money, about a third of $32.7 billion in allocated funds, that went to the Department of Energy will be focused on those areas. The jobs will be a big boon in this economy, but can they be a career?

“We need to strike a balance between creating jobs immediately and getting a long-term impact,” said Reed. One area that could support long-term careers is facilities that produce technology such as solar panels. Factories could create jobs across a wide spectrum from support services to assembly workers to the management suite. And indeed, the government is looking to support such programs. The only loan guarantee listed on the Energy department’s Web site since October is $535 million to Solyndra Inc., a company that makes solar panels, for construction of a commercial-scale manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif.

Keeping production in the U.S., though, isn’t an easy process. The economy has shifted, and manufacturing continues to be a shrinking share of gross domestic product. In 2007, the Labor Department issued a report that said employment in the goods-producing industries has been relatively stagnant since the early 1980s, and overall the sector is expected to decline 3.3% from 2006-2016. Growth was seen in the pharmaceutical and medical industries, but the outlook was bleaker for other areas.

That’s a forecast that many are eager to prove incorrect. “This is one of the lulls in the economy that could work to our advantage. We have to turn on a dime because they can be fleeting, and time to market can be critical,” Reed said.

The current environment could provide an opportunity to nurture smaller companies in the green sector. In the early phases of a company’s growth, having production close to innovation and markets can prove to be a major boon.

Green jobs are more about potential than immediate impact. But that potential may be one of the best hopes for rebuilding the economy. Some economists say that Americans are entering a new phase, as the household sector pulls back to cut debt and limit savings. Growth in the last few decades has been built on the back of the American consumer, but something may have to pop up to pick up the slack.

“My job is to make sure companies that sprouted here, grow here,” Reed said. And in the current environment, growth is at a premium.