Jobs
If 25% of the US economy is tied to pollution,
what'll happen to employees once polluting stops?
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.
California labor leaders say, “The...just transition is pure fiction.”
“The so-called just transition has not become a reality.”
A 2021 report suggests that policy planners have been naive,
“I don’t think that they...have a sense of the enormity of the problem.”
“Replacing [oil] rig work with solar panel manufacturing is...harder than it sounds.”
In Coal Country, these plans face "deep skepticism":
“Job retraining...[is] difficult to pull off...and often yields jobs that don’t pay as well."
"Few places have gracefully navigated the end of fossil fuels.”
Who might lose pollution-related employment, and where might they end up?
“‘Oil’s gonna fight tooth and nail till the end — they don’t believe that they’re gonna end...soon’.”
“Commercial aviation [is] nearly $1.5 trillion in U.S. economic activity and...10 million jobs.”
"Warming could affect the...golf industry." “ ‘American...sports leagues...are...far behind’,” so are musicians,
comedians, and other performers. "Relentless touring...is...environmentally unsustainable."
"EVs require far fewer parts than those with internal combustion engines, which means...fewer factory assembly jobs."
Car companies buy more than $10 billion worth of advertising (per year) from media organizations.
The beef cattle and dairy industries may make up as much as 2.5% of the US economy.
"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...
will be solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service technicians.”
"The median...wage for a solar-pv installer...was $44,890,
while that of a wind-turbine technician was $52,910.
[ 2019 / annual / USA ]
Median wages in the fossil-fuel power sector...paid between $70,310 and $81,460."
Just Transitions may be unusual, but they do happen:
Virginia -- “Siemens Gamesa...will invest $200 million to build
the first U.S. offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing facility...creating 310 jobs.”
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."
Spain -- “Unions only agreed to Just Transition after the government guaranteed
both early retirement and massive investment to create alternative jobs.”