In the beginning of the month, President Obama gave a speech to Congress on his job growth proposal. While focused mainly on job creation, Obama reiterated his support for environmental and health protections. He stated: ""I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back…rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury."" Obama believes that we do not have to compromise for lower standards in order for our economy to be strong again. America should be ""in a race to the top"" when it comes to pollution standards.
All in all, when it comes to the environment and the health and safety of our families, our economic standing shouldn't be a cause for lower standards. In fact, I see it as an opportunity to grow. The green business is a booming business. It not only saves people money, but also creates thousands of jobs. Environment America, an environmental advocacy group, has outlined several ways the green business helps the economy. The Better Buildings Initiative is one example of how Obama is using the green business sector to create jobs for unemployed Americans. If fully implemented, this initiative would create 114,000 jobs, mainly in construction, and also make commercial buildings 20% more energy efficient
This is just one section of the green industry that could create new jobs. Transportation, for example, could also adapt green policies and create employment. Building a clean transportation infrastructure would create 72,000 months of construction work. That's 6,000 years of work! Clearly, the green industry is something worth taking a look at.
America is in desperate need of job creation and the answer is staring us right in the face. The green energy industry needs to be heavily invested in. In fact, clean energy creates more jobs than burning fossil fuels. A recent study from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts showed that clean energy creates three times as many jobs than the fossil fuel industry. This should be highly considered when formulating a job creation policy.
Megan Severson, a Wisconsin Environment advocate, was happy with Obama's speech. She stated that she was ""pleased that the president's speech highlights an important fact: that a healthy economy goes hand in hand with a healthy environment.""
And she is exactly right. Working on keeping our environment healthy also helps stabilize our economy. It creates thousands of jobs here in America while simultaneously improving our citizens' health and well-being.
Some may argue that going green can be an expensive up front cost. While this may be true, the president has offered numerous tax breaks for the companies that do embrace a more energy efficient model. Not only that, but in the long run you end up saving money. Less dependence on fossil fuels and more dependence on energy sources like the sun and wind power are much more cost effective.
While Obama's job creation speech was a good start to something desperately needed by Americans, the green energy sector of business is our best option. It would create an enormous amount of jobs, would be cost effective and better for everyone's health. This should be a no brainer. Investment in green business is a must for the future well-being of America.
Nick Fritz is a junior majoring in marketing. Do you agree that green industry is the key to creating jobs? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
