Monday
May042009
Green Jobs: Fact Or Fiction?
By Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
President Obama complements Spain as a "Green" industry leader, but according to Ben Lieberman, a specialist in energy and environmental issues, “if there really was a green jobs miracle to be had, we would be seeing it in Spain,” but the reality “is just not that."
Gabriel Calzada, Associate Professor of Economics at the King Juan Carlos University in Spain, said that although Spain energy is green, it is “very costly. It was green, but very risky.” Calzada warned that the richest families are profiting while consumers pay high prices on steeper energy bills and raised taxes.
In a study sited by Calzada, for every green job subsidized in the renewable field, “2.2 jobs would have been created in the rest of the economy.”
There are many energy companies advocating in favor of long term investments, but, "are they so stupid as to not realize, you could get immediate payback if you would just do something else,” said Tom Bogart Professor of Economics at York College.
Bogart warned that in order to sustain energy jobs, the U.S. will eventually have to borrow money from China. And, instead of creating a job market, the U.S. will have to rely on others for this new sector, he said.
“It is not true that you can have you cake and eat it too when it comes to green jobs,” said Robert Murphy, an Economist with the Institute for Energy Research.
President Obama complements Spain as a "Green" industry leader, but according to Ben Lieberman, a specialist in energy and environmental issues, “if there really was a green jobs miracle to be had, we would be seeing it in Spain,” but the reality “is just not that."
Gabriel Calzada, Associate Professor of Economics at the King Juan Carlos University in Spain, said that although Spain energy is green, it is “very costly. It was green, but very risky.” Calzada warned that the richest families are profiting while consumers pay high prices on steeper energy bills and raised taxes.
In a study sited by Calzada, for every green job subsidized in the renewable field, “2.2 jobs would have been created in the rest of the economy.”
There are many energy companies advocating in favor of long term investments, but, "are they so stupid as to not realize, you could get immediate payback if you would just do something else,” said Tom Bogart Professor of Economics at York College.
Bogart warned that in order to sustain energy jobs, the U.S. will eventually have to borrow money from China. And, instead of creating a job market, the U.S. will have to rely on others for this new sector, he said.
“It is not true that you can have you cake and eat it too when it comes to green jobs,” said Robert Murphy, an Economist with the Institute for Energy Research.
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Calzada, Spain, energy bills, green jobs, obama, taxes in News/Commentary
Calzada, Spain, energy bills, green jobs, obama, taxes in News/Commentary
Lawmakers Hoping President Recommits To Energy Reform
Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), co-authors of the Senate's comprehensive energy independence and climate change legislation, said Tuesday that recent analysis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed a decrease in the cost of Americans' energy bills resulting from their newly proposed legislation, the American Power Act.
"That means that every day, the American Power Act will save 60 times the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. That's real change," said Lieberman.
Both Senators said they are looking forward to hearing President Barack Obama's speech from the Oval Office tonight as he is expected to make a big push in favor of energy reform.
"The best way to avoid another tragic oil spill like the one on the Gulf today is to break our dependence in oil today to power our society and we need legislation to make that happen," Lieberman said. "So I hope and believe that President Obama will renew his commitment to comprehensive clean energy legislation."