The decision is in: the jobs of the future must be green – economically and ecologically.
In order to reach this goal and promote a financially healthy and environmentally responsible economy, the Good Green Jobs for All conference took place in Toronto this past Saturday, October 7.
As hundreds of ‘green’ brains are better than just a few, about 550 labour and environmental activists attended the sold out event which included speeches and workshops.
Attendees were briefed on what other countries are achieving. For example, in Germany, 250,000 people work in renewable energy. Denmark employs 20,000 in their $6 billion-a-year wind power industry. In Pennsylvania, a $650 million alternative energy bill came into force in July and could employ up to 10,000 people. Australia has invested $1 billion into electric car production.
In Ontario, as elsewhere, two realities exist: people need jobs, and we have to deal with climate change. The conference sought ways to have these two situations converge and create a viable solution. According to some experts, the solution should include wind turbines, solar panels, biogas generation plants, and deep-lake water cooling, to mention just a few of the green technologies that could help create more jobs. For example, a recent study suggests that up to one million trades jobs could be created if every home in Canada was retrofitted to make it more energy efficient.
Though ideas and strategies were forthcoming at the conference, John Cartwright, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, admitted that greening the economy would have its challenges, among which the power and influence of Big Oil would be foremost. He stressed that only if people change their attitudes can the old habits of society, and the economy, be changed for the better.
… we can and must adopt ways of living and ways of making things that are more in tune with the long-term environmental needs of this planet” – John Cartwright
