Jobs
If 25% of the US economy is tied to pollution,
what'll happen to employees once polluting stops?
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Many planners propose a “Just Transition" to include
government funded. . ."retraining. . .and . . .early retirement." ​​​
These planners know that previous attempts at “Just Transitions” have not gone well.
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California labor leaders say, “The...just transition is pure fiction.”
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“The so-called just transition has not become a reality.”
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A 2021 report suggests that policy planners have been naive,
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“I don’t think that they...have a sense of the enormity of the problem.”
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“Replacing [oil] rig work with solar panel manufacturing is...harder than it sounds.”
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In Coal Country, these plans face "deep skepticism":
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“Job retraining...[is] difficult to pull off...and often yields jobs that don’t pay as well."
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"Few places have gracefully navigated the end of fossil fuels.”
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Who might lose pollution-related employment, and where might they end up?
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“‘Oil’s gonna fight tooth and nail till the end — they don’t believe that they’re gonna end...soon’.”
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“Commercial aviation [is] nearly $1.5 trillion in U.S. economic activity and...10 million jobs.”
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"Warming could affect the...golf industry." “ ‘American...sports leagues...are...far behind’,” so are musicians,
comedians, and other performers. "Relentless touring...is...environmentally unsustainable."
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"EVs require far fewer parts than those with internal combustion engines, which means...fewer factory assembly jobs."
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Car companies buy more than $10 billion worth of advertising (per year) from media organizations.
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The beef cattle and dairy industries may make up as much as 2.5% of the US economy.
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"It takes far more people to operate a coal-powered electricity plant than it takes to operate a wind farm.
Many solar farms often make do without a single worker on site."
“The two occupations with the fastest projected job growth in the US...
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will be solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service technicians.”
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"The median...wage for a solar-pv installer...was $44,890,
while that of a wind-turbine technician was $52,910.
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[ 2019 / annual / USA ]
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Median wages in the fossil-fuel power sector...paid between $70,310 and $81,460."
Just Transitions may be unusual, but they do happen:
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Virginia -- “Siemens Gamesa...will invest $200 million to build
the first U.S. offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing facility...creating 310 jobs.”
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Illinois -- "In 2012, we decided to buy the factory for ourselves and fire the boss.
We now own the plant together and run it democratically."
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Spain -- “Unions only agreed to Just Transition after the government guaranteed
both early retirement and massive investment to create alternative jobs.”