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dennisk's Blog

by dennisk from DETROIT

Last Post 13 days, 10 hours Ago


Consider these facts:

· A Washington-based consulting firm estimates that the U.S. environmental industry generated more than $340 billion in sales and almost $50 billion in tax revenues in 2005. The 5.3 million workers in the environmental industry outnumber pharmaceutical workers ten to one.

· A British company specializing in improving the energy efficiency of homes was floated on the London Stock Exchange last June and now employs 4,000 people who once worked in nearby, now closed, coal mines.

· A study prepared for the German Ministry of Environment estimates that employment in the German environmental technology industries will surpass employment in the automobile industry by 2020.

· China has some 1,000 solar thermal energy firms, generating sales of $2.5 billion and employing 600,000 workers in manufacturing and installation.

· The Indian city of Delhi is introducing new eco-friendly compressed natural gas buses, which will create an additional 18,000 new jobs.

Has the time come for Michigan to put more resources into Green Industries? What incentives can our state government provide?

Clearly, change is in the air. Our responses to climate change must have a social dimension. Workers, employers and governments must engage in dialogue to put in place the social policies which ensure that green jobs are decent jobs.

 


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Member Comments Total Comments: 8
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ReverendCirca53 read my blog view my photos
Mar 8, 2008 | 2:49 AM

MSU Extension Service and the Fed's were all over this in the late 70's early 80's.French fry oil is old news.Jenny G. is not going to build windfarms, like Martha's Vineyard and the kennedys,"Not in my Backyard"!!...Sierra Club won't let it happen.Corn, soybean prices are going through the roof, affecting grocery prices. This is the latest fad.Mich's only hope is to put more cash into research of viable solutions, and farm products ain't it.Biofuels cost more in resources,(oil,water,electric)then gasoline to produce, and the end result is more pollution.Other states are better suited to address the issue.Can it happen? Sure.. but not the way Mich. is trying or pretending to do it.A good start might be to exempt taxes on research and facilities, offer college programs and employment to students interested in it for free.

ReverendCirca53 read my blog view my photos
Mar 8, 2008 | 5:09 AM

See.....US Farm Report......argue with them...not me......

ReverendCirca53 read my blog view my photos
Mar 8, 2008 | 2:04 PM

See;.....EMagazine.com.........

whatwhenwhyhow read my blog
Mar 8, 2008 | 5:27 PM

Green collar jobs, Granholm style, are not forward thinking, just the same old same old. She always said we need to think outside the box but now is in the box of what exists. Where's the innovation, Governor. Biofuels do cost more in resources to produce and create more polution. In addition to the polution, there is not enough corn and soybeans to make a dent in our needs. Biofuels also will decrease the Miles per gallon output for vehicles. How much has Granholm given away in tax incentives already? I'd like to see a comparative analysis of the dollars on her logic. What about making installation of solar, wind and other green solutions to residents homes? There are also cleaner, less costly ways to produce fuel. I'd tell you what they are Governor, but suggest you try reading a book or two.

Michigan_Man read my blog view my photos
Mar 9, 2008 | 12:55 PM

No, command economies never work. The government is taking money away from people who would create real jobs that people actually want (and we can tell they want these types of jobs because that is where people are spending their money) in order to create make-work charity jobs that accomplish nothing.

Come on, "Green Collar" jobs? If Granholm couldn't keep blue collar jobs here with her policies then what makes you think she will be able to attract "green collar" jobs? I have an idea, why don't we stop the government from trying to control the economy, tell them to give us our money back, leave us alone, sit back and watch us spend our money on things we want and need. The economy is the word we use to describe the collection of organizations that meet our wants and needs. To allow government to control that process inhibits the process and causes economic damage.

What has government done so well that we think they can handle these things? Have they stopped crime, racial profiling, poverty, drugs, bigotry, war, or successfully done anything they have promised? We need to wake up to these manipulating politicians and realize that the best approach is freedom, not government control and domination.

ReverendCirca53 read my blog view my photos
Mar 9, 2008 | 1:28 PM

MichMan;....I take it that your not a pothead.......lol.....

Michigan_Man read my blog view my photos
Mar 9, 2008 | 4:10 PM

Correct, not a pothead. lol

I do support reforming the drug laws though considering that they clearly do not work. Half our prison population is drug related. People should not be thrown in jail simply for possessing, using, or selling drugs. The primary reason we outlaw drugs is because they alter a person's state of mind and facilitate criminal action, however we allow people to get away with more crime because of drug usage (i.e. I ran over the little girl because I was drunk, I swung at the cop because I was high on cocaine, etc.). What we need to do is eliminate all laws that outlaw simple possession, usage, or sale of drugs and instead institute a scale or spectrum of increasing punishments for crimes such as reckless driving, robbery, etc. with increased blood alcohol/marijuana/cocaine/etc. level. In short, we should not punish people simply for enjoying the vices of freedom, but we should make very clear that violating the rights of others while under the influence of those vices will be recognized as an enhanced level of reckless disregard and the punishment for those crimes will be higher. Prevention works better than punishment and if drug users know that they will be punished for being irresponsible with their habbit then they will become more responsible with their habbit.

No, I'm not a pothead, but you'd have to be high to waste money on paying for room and board for a pothead. Prohibition has failed, so let's thank Nixon for the "War on Drugs," stop the prohibition, and reform our drug laws to punish people for criminal action while on drugs r

Michigan_Man read my blog view my photos
Mar 9, 2008 | 4:11 PM

action while on drugs rather than punish non-criminal drug usage and allowing them to get away with crimes because they were on drugs.

Tax those dirty hippies!

lol

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dennisk

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Member Since: 9/7/2006