Forbes.com
Arpil 30, 2008
Can clean energy projects, and the bonanza of good jobs they promise, be brought to scale? You betcha. In the last few years, a clutch of clean energy projects have emerged on a scale never seen before. Forbes.com identified the biggest and boldest projects among them.
“Thank God for the unions,” writes James Bilezikaian, of Miami. “They seem to be the only institution remaining in this country well enough organized, financially strong enough, and sufficiently courageous to resist this dynamic of destruction.
May 12, 2008 Apollo Feedback
Are We Up To The Challenge? Absolutely says the Apollo nation Last week we asked whether there was enough courage and smarts in the United States to respond to the economic, environmental, and political peril we face. Is America capable of writing a new compact with its people that sees the public interest as having greater priority than serving the private interest. That represents a sharp departure in the governing and cultural direction the nation pursued over the last quarter century. Your responses clearly indicated America is ready for a change that sees clean energy and good jobs as central to our greatness in this century.
Last week we asked whether there was enough courage and smarts in the United States to respond to the economic, environmental, and political peril we face. Is America capable of writing a new compact with its people that sees the public interest as having greater priority than serving the private interest. That represents a sharp departure in the governing and cultural direction that nation pursued over the last quarter century. Your responses clearly indicated America is ready for a change that sees clean energy and good jobs as central to our greatness in this century.
This second edition of reader Feedback includes an intriguing sampling of inventions, personal stories, questions, and news of independent clean energy media developing around the country. Send your Feedback dispatches to Keith Schneider, keith@apolloalliance.org. We post them early every week.
This second edition of reader Feedback includes an intriguing sampling of inventions, personal stories, questions, and news of independent clean energy media developing around the country. Send your Feedback dispatches to Keith Schneider, keith@apolloalliance.org. We post them early every week.
Like many communities suffering from economic dislocation, Grays Harbor in Washington state cast about for ways to bring back the jobs that had been so productive for generations. They tried the conventional routes, attempting to lure light manufacturing and call centers. They tried to make Grays Harbor a historic seaport. Then, serendipitously, the town discovered another resource: biofuels.
In response to Apollo's call for news from our readers about the clean energy, good jobs future, we received a number of interesting dispatches. There's no resignation or bitterness expressed here. Just a steadfast sense of purpose at the local level, reflected in new policy (see the Alaska note below), new companies (Michigan, Washington state, and California entrepreneurs contributed here), new programs (New Jersey and Denver supporters write), and a number of intriguing ideas.
A group of rebel engineers from Corte Madera, California, the Calcar boys, met one sunny day in April 2004 in the garage of a typical condominium ten miles north of the Golden Gate. They were determined to roll out a car that could be “fueled” by plugging it into a wall at night with a standard extension cord and run on gas when needed. It was a Toyota Prius when they started. When they finished it was a symbol of an American revolution in automobiles.
Two governors from fossil fuel–rich states are taking steps that deserve special attention to move beyond carbon-based energy, powered by new technology. In Pennsylvania, Governor Ed Rendell has attracted the better part of $1 billion of new investment and created literally thousands of jobs during his tenure. In New Mexico, Governor Bill Richardson is working to substantially reduce carbon emissions as a central feature of building a more efficient economy that generates good jobs and prosperity.
Carlton Brown is among the legion of entrepreneurs, developers, city leaders, union workers, scientists, and farmers laying claim to a piece of the new clean energy economy unfolding across the United States. As president of Full Spectrum New York, a leader in the development of mixed use and mixed income green buildings in emerging urban markets, he has helped to rebuild Harlem as a livable, affordable, and increasingly energy-efficient community that stays within reach of long time residents, helping them gain home ownership, while restoring strong and healthy neighborhoods.
A coalition of non-profit environmental and economic research organizations from across the country today released a first-of-its kind guide to cities and states to enhance one critical component of America’s shared prosperity. The new guide, “Green-Collar Jobs in America's Cities,” was made public at the start of the two-day national Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference in Pittsburgh. It makes a strong case that pursuing a four-step strategy – essentially a metropolitan green business and jobs development plan – provides a wealth of environmental, economic, and social benefits.
