Green Economy's a Good Economy in California
by Alex Smith, San Francisco, California on 10.22.08
Report Shows California's Investment in Green Boosts Economy
According to a study released by UC Berkeley this Monday, thinking green will work wonders for the state's economy despite global financial difficulties.
The report, authored by professor David Roland-Host, noted that in the next 12 years, the state's investment in fighting global warming and improving energy efficiency will create as many as 403,000 jobs and increase household incomes by $48 billion.
The energy efficiency efforts of California began in the 1970s and have already shown a green economy is a good economy. By adopting new building codes and appliance standards, Californians saved $56 billion between 1972 and 2006 and saw 1.5 million related jobs created.
California policymakers are drafting plans to cut the state's emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020 and are also engaging in talks about carbon capping and trading. The state released its own report similar to the Berkeley report this month, also predicting green job and economic growth thanks to plans to curb carbon.
The premise of the Berkeley study is both unique and simple: when people spend less on energy they transfer these dollars to groceries and other goods that boost the overall economy, creating all kinds of jobs.
Roland-Host told the Chronicle,
We find, I think demonstrably, that energy efficiency is good for the economy and good for jobs... even with very modest targets for energy efficiency improvements, California can continue its legacy of sustained job growth.
Photo Credit: Inhabitat
More on a Green Economy:
Jobs in the Green Economy
The Green Collar Economy
Forbes' Hottest Green Job Markets
"What's Next For The Green Economy?" --- The Eco Investment Club held an event on Nov 5th, that assembled an impressive list on panelists, which the conversation has now spilled over to many popular blogs and discussion forums such as, FastCompany.com, The Green Skeptic, Ecopreneurist.com, and TreeHugger! We would love to gain you as a member(s) and keep you "In The Know"... I will also be speaking at the National Algae Association's West Coast Chapter Conference at Cal State Fullerton (Dec 2nd) and I am being considered to speak on the panel at the Sustainable Business Council of Los Angeles' Dec Chapter meeting titled, "Show Me The Money: Investing in the New Green Economy", which is co-hosted by the LA Times.
Go to www.ecoinvestmentclub.com to learn more and join the conversation on the Treehugger Forum: http://forums.treehugger.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6979&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a