Report: New Communications Technology = Good, Green Jobs
New communication technologies can be a key part of making our economy more energy-efficient and help create good jobs in the future, according to a new report.
“Networking the Green Economy: How Broadband and Related Technologies Can Build a Green Economic Future,” illustrates how a highly-networked economy with smart buildings, smart grids, teleconferencing and digital education will reduce carbon dioxide emissions and retain good, green jobs. The report was released yesterday at a Capitol Hill press conference by the Progressive States Network, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Sierra Club and the Blue Green Alliance. You can read the report here.
Speaking at the press conference, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming said the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) much anticipated National Broadband Plan could be a key part of an economic recovery.
Cap and Trade Bill: Good First Step
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The U.S. Congress took a step forward toward a national policy that helps clean up the environment and create good green jobs, but there is still work to do, union leaders say today.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act, which passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday, would set a national ceiling on greenhouse gas emissions and let polluting industries buy and sell credits to meet it. This “cap-and-trade” system would limit harmful human-generated emissions and, hopefully, speed up development of renewable energy sources, create green jobs and help reduce our dependence on oil.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the bill, as currently marked up, “makes significant, job-creating investments, while attempting to minimize impacts on existing workers.”
The AFL-CIO supports cap-and-trade legislation that takes a balanced approach towards an economy wide-program and prevents foreign competitors from getting advantages over American companies.
