The Columbia Institute held “Making green jobs happen: A governance forum for leaders in Ontario” at the Direct Energy Centre this past saturday.There were several regional and municipal officials from Ontario gathered to hear some guest speakers and their success stories.
The day opened with Robert Pollin, the founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He co-authored the reports “Job Opportunities for the Green Economy” (June 2008) and “Green Recovery” (September 2008) which explore the broader economic benefits of large-scale investments in a clean-energy economy in the U.S. He is also the author of “Building the Green Economy: Employment Effects of Green Energy Investments for Ontario.” Shocking that an American was the expert talking about growing a green economy in Ontario- but hey, he did his research !(?) He compares the fossil fuel industry to the clean energy industry with graphs showing the same investments producing more jobs. He preached the same song I’ve been hearing at conferences since I was 16 years old; a green economy creates more jobs and a brighter future; more jobs of all kinds, not just green jobs, MORE JOBS !
We then split into WORKSHOPS, I attended the one titled “Municipal Financing for Green Retrofits”.
We heard how Municipalities in New York finance green energy projects and energy efficiency retrofits for homes and made money at the same time !
• SteveBellone,Supervisor,TownofBabylon–creatorofasuccessful,largescale, municipally funded energy efficiency retrofit program in New York.
• KelleyMcKanna,ProjectManager,RenewableFunding–pioneersinthe municipally led, municipally financed home-based renewable energy installation
• Emmaia Gelman, Policy Director, Center for Working Families – led campaign to win $100,000,000 in funding for energy efficient retrofits for the state of New Yor
Learn how municipalities can promote and finance green energy projects and energy efficiency retrofits for homes and make money at the same time
I really like your blog. This post in particular! I’m looking get into carpentry and home renovations in the future and anyone I talk to in the feild tells me go green. Fleming College in Haliburton Ontario offer sustainable building design and sustainable building renovation programs that are new but appear to be the first of their kind. I figure you got to make that cash somehow, why not do it green? Report more on this stuff. I need a job!
I agree with Robert. I was also fortunate enough to take the program offered at Fleming for sustainable building design and construction. It was an amazing program and I learnt so much about green building and green technologies. I got a job thereafter in Peterborough in the eco-retrofit program field, working for a company that performed energy audits.
About a month ago, the conservative government hastly announced they were cutting funding, and not allowing any other homeowners the chance to join. Thus, about a week after this announcement, I lost my job, just like that.
We need more green jobs, but we need our government to support them as well. As of yet, we are unable to perceive a green future with Stephen “1980s mentality” Harper.
Manon, You said it !