Obama’s green jobs revolution
Democrat will lead effort to curb world’s dependence on oil; Plans to create five million new posts in clean energy projects
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Barack Obama is promising a $150bn “Apollo project” to bring jobs and energy security to the US through a new alternative energy economy, if his final push for votes brings victory in the presidential election on Tuesday.
“That’s going to be my number one priority when I get into office,” Mr Obama has said of his “green recovery” plans. Making his arguments in a radio address yesterday, the Democratic favourite promised: “If you give me your vote on Tuesday, we won’t just win this election. Together, we will change this country and change the world.
Weird. I thought golf and White House parties were his #1 priorities.
Looks like his new green economy is a goat with a saddle, and a stick with a carrot.
Obama lives in la la land. The truth of green jobs failure after failure in other countries is staggering.
“Substantial subsidies have been directed to the Danish wind mill industry over years. From
2001-2005 the yearly subsidy has been 1.7-2.6 billion DKK. The Danish Wind industry counts 28,400 employees. This does not, however, constitute the net employment effect of the wind mill subsidy. In the long run, creating additional employment in one sector through subsidies will detract labor from other sectors, resulting in no increase in net employment but only in a shift from the non-subsidized sectors to the subsidized sector. Allowing for the theoretical possibility of wind employment alleviating possible regional pockets of high unemployment, a very optimistic ballpark estimate of net real job creation is 10% of total employment in the sector. In this case the subsidy per job created is 600,000-900,000 DKK per year ($90,000-140,000). This subsidy constitutes around 175-250% of the average pay per worker in the Danish manufacturing industry.”
http://www.cepos.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/Arkiv/PDF/Wind_energy_-_the_case_of_Denmark.pdf
Earlier in the paper they talk about the fact that peak energy demand and wind power lower the wind turbine contribution to energy production in Denmark to levels far below the 20% that is often given in the media. The Eon/Netz engineering report for Germany shows how inefficient wnd becomes over time as new farms are added.
http://docs.wind-watch.org/eonwindreport2005.pdf
Does unemployment count as a ‘green job’? It does, after all, resemble government work, and they are getting paid by Uncle Sam. Obama has added roughly 3 million to the unemployment roles since he took office, so he is 60% there already. What are you guys complaining about?
Of course the unemployed don’t produce anything thereby reducing CO2 from industrial activities.
Paul and Gator – Eureka! You guys have struck truth! No wonder unemployment has stayed high for his entire presidency! You guys should market that angle to Obama! He would pay a fortune for it! (but then take it all aways since you would be rich and therefore greedy).
Getting re-elected is the number 1 priority, Duhh. He’s been campaigning since he took office.
Well it did come from that comic, the Independent, I’ve always preferred Viz – where political comment is always more factual and precise.
Wot’s he [Obarmy] gonna promise this time, a credible deficit reduction plan?………or, is that too science fiction?
Maintaining a golf course is a green job. Printing US Dollars as well. So Obama had his priorities right.
Creating 5 mil green job isn’t hard if you throw enough subsidy money at the issue. Companies will happily gear up to take that money. The problem is in how many other jobs that the program will cost and that part isn’t mentioned. He’s not talking about a net job gain, here, only green jobs.
Based on the EU experience those 5 mil green jobs will cost 10-18 million other jobs.