Source #13

TITLE: Green Job’s Key to Obama Administration’s Middle Class Task Force 

SUMMARY: This article is about the inaugural Task Force meeting held at the University of Pennsylvania on February 27, 2009. These White House Task Force meetings will be held in PN every month, and are hosted by U.S. VP Joe Biden. On February 27, Joe Biden emphasized the importance of investing in green collar jobs, saying it is key to rescuing the current economy. The creation of a new green collar economy, Biden argues, will be the best remedy for the American middle class at this time. Not only do green jobs pay anywhere from 10 to 20 percent more than most jobs, they are also more likely to be unionized, which would give workers more power and say in the job environment. Proponents of a new green economy also stress the importance of reducing carbon emissions. 

TOPIC: Green jobs needed 

CATEGORY: Institutional 

WHAT IS IT? A press release posted on Environment News Service, an online news resource 

PUBLICATION INFORMATION: Environment News Service, February 27, 2009 

AUTHOR: No author listed 

LOCATION: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-27-01.asp

ACCESSED: March 6, 2009 

SUPPORT: 
* White House Middle Class Task Force, a branch of the new Obama Task Force focusing on issues that affect the American middle class
* U.S. Vice President Joe Biden
* U.S. President Barack Obama
*  Hilda Solis, new White House Labor Secretary & author of the Green Jobs Act 
*  Tom Vilsack, U.S. Agriculture Secretary 
* Shaun Donovan, Secretary of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development  
* Ray LaHood, Secretary of U.S. Department of Transportation
* Steven Chu, Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy
* Arne Duncan, Secretary of U.S. Department of Education
* Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund
* Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, academic research center focusing on the effects of globalization
*  Van Jones, President & Founder of Green For All organization, author of ”The Green Collar Economy”
* Dr. Martin Luther King, American civil rights leader & activist
* Ed Rendell, Governor of Pennsylvania
* Michael Nutter, Mayor of Philadelphia, PN 
* Philadelphia Energy Coordinating Agency, future green training program established by the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation in coordination with the Philadelphia Mayor’s Office (training center will open in 2010) 
* John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Miamai, FL non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting journalism 
*  Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, non-profit Pennsylvania network promoting business sustainability 
*  Green Jobs Corp, Philadelphia green collar job organization 
* Matt Bergheiser, Program Director for the Knight Foundation 
* Pat Eiding, President of Philadelphia’s AFL-CIO 

AUDIENCE & AGENDA: The Environment News Service (ENS) is over 100 years old, established in 1900 by Sunny Lewis, Editor-in-Chief, and Jim Crabtree, Managing Editor. ENS claims it “exists to present late-breaking environmental news in a fair and balanced manner.” It continues to be privately owned and operated to this day. I attempted to do more outside research on ENS; Wikipedia.Org says it has won numerous journalism awards, although the Wiki entry failed to mention any of those awards by name. Reports and articles written by the independent journalists in ENS have been used by Reuters/Dow Jones Factivia, journlalism database KeepMedia,  and other well-known news and information outlets. ENS employs journalists in different areas around the world. Its focus is on environmental news, legislation, conferences, technology, public health, and other global environmental issues. The main ENS editorial news offices are in Washington, DC, and Seattle, WA. Hundreds of major news services around the globe are subscribers to ENS media, which they use as a source of news information and environmental stories. Among these media figures are BBC World News, ABC News,  the City of Eugene, OR, the Daily Astorian, United Nations News, and USA Today. Since so many media use ENS, it is nearly impossible to say how many readers/consumers there are of its products. The Service allows its content to be licensed by subscribers, who can then pick ENS stories and articles for their targeted audiences. The main purpose of ENS is to offer services to these media subscribers. In addition to licensing, ENS also offers advertising and marketing services, video crew to cover events, and text and video publication. The money media outlets pay to utilize these services is the main source of funding for ENS. 

USEFULNESS: This article summarized many of my strongest arguments for federal green job development. Some of these arguments are: 1) Green jobs will help the low-income and the middle class by providing stable careers 2) Green jobs would give more power to workers since they are more likely to be unionized 3) Green jobs generally pay more. I was pleased that this article also quoted many powerful government officials who support the Obama-Biden administration’s focus to move towards a green collar economy. Among these individuals are the new Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. This article also highlights the efforts of Philadelphia, which is quickly promoting and moving towards cultivating green collar jobs in the area. I was pleased to get more specifics on the green activity there because it is proof that many large US areas are moving towards a green revolution.  Other areas that are following suite are Oakland, CA, Newark, NJ, and Portland, OR. So far, it seems as if the investments of these areas in promoting a green collar economy are paying off by creating more jobs in the local areas, lowering energy bills and consumption, and raising awareness of human impact on the environment. 

WORKS CITED:
* Dubay, Kristen., Gereffi, Gary., Lowe, Mark. “Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Carbon-Reducing Technologies & U.S. Jobs.” Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness. November, 2008. 

http://www.cggc.duke.edu/environment/climatesolutions/greeneconomy_Fullreport.pdf

Accessed March 8, 2009
* Jones, Van. ”The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems.” HarperOne Publishing. October 7, 2008.

http://vanjones.net/page.php?pageid=2

Accessed March 8, 2009 
* Middle Class Task Force 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass/

Accessed March 8, 2009
* Solis, Hilda. “Solis’ Green Jobs Act Signed into Law.” December 19, 2007. 

http://www.insidesocal.com/editors/2007/12/solis_green_jobs_act_signed_in.html

Accessed March 8, 2009
* White House Task Force (unpublished) report on Green Job Development

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