center for american progress rolls out green recovery plan

The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank run by John Podesta, today released something they’re calling the Green Recovery plan. The plan, drafted in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), suggests that an investment of $100 billion over two years would create 2 million new jobs in a clean energy economy, with a significant proportion going toward the struggling construction and manufacturing sectors. The paper calls for investment in six key areas. They are:

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8 Comments

  1. Brackache
    Posted September 18, 2008 at 8:28 am | Permalink

    Lotsa good ideas in there, all politics aside. But I’d say the $4 billion from Federal loan guarantees is a weak link.

  2. amanda
    Posted September 18, 2008 at 9:23 am | Permalink

    I’m all about the green jobs– really– think it’s great that it’s all the buzz and starting to get some real investment… but most of these initiatives are leaving out sustainable, urban, and local agriculture, which is clearly all the buzz right now– and for which there are TONS of mutually beneficial (to the economy, individuals’ health, community sustainability, & environmental quality) factors that could fit it in so nicely. People in our movement have done some solid research, too, about the impact on jobs– http://www.mottgroup.msu.edu/Portals/0/downloads/EatFresh.pdf is specifically about job creation in Michigan if we switched just a small fraction of our purchasing to local…

    If we lose our farmland it’s pretty much lost. And, while biofuels are cool in many ways, eating is still pretty important– and if we continue to get more and more of our food from far away, those prices will only increase, more and more food money will leave our economy, the issues with food system safety, etc will only exacerbate, etc.

    I just wish these big thinktanks would start having some nod to some of the “greenest” jobs already out there where there’s huge opportunity for growth…

  3. Al Gore
    Posted September 18, 2008 at 1:36 pm | Permalink

    Friends,

    I’ve been deeply frustrated. I suspect a lot of you have been too.

    We’re facing such huge challenges and all you hear through the media are demagogic chants like “drill, drill, drill.”

    Skyrocketing energy prices. The climate crisis. Unraveling financial markets. Wars that just happen to be in places with a lot of oil. These are all just different faces of exactly the same thing. As I’ve said in the past, we’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the future of human civilization. And every bit of that has to change.

    We all know what we have to do. Ask anybody on the street and they’ll tell you. We need to “Repower America” — invest in ourselves, here at home, with clean, economical energy technologies that we know work. And be the global leader as these technologies take off around the world.

    And ask anyone, and they’ll also tell you why it isn’t happening: the oil and coal lobbies — and the politicians who do their bidding.

    It’s very simple.

    So the Alliance for Climate Protection has put together an ad that tells this simple story. And we’re going to put it on national cable TV.

    If we can raise an additional $80,000 online, we’ll also put it on 60 Minutes and 20/20 this coming week. Wouldn’t that be great?

    Can you help? Just go here:

    http://www.wecansolveit.org/oilandcoal

    Here’s the script:

    The solution to our climate crisis seems simple.
    Repower America with wind and solar.
    End our dependence on foreign oil. A stronger economy.
    So why are we still stuck with dirty and expensive energy?
    Because big oil spends hundreds of millions of dollars to block clean energy.
    Lobbyists, ads, even scandals.
    All to increase their profits, while America suffers.
    Breaking big oil’s lock on our government …
    Now that’s change.
    We’re the American people and we approve this message.

    And you can view the ad on our donation page, here:
    http://www.wecansolveit.org/oilandcoal

    We’re taking on the oil and coal lobbies, because there’s simply no other choice. We need your help.

    Thanks,

    Al Gore

    http://www.wecansolveit.org

  4. Julie
    Posted September 18, 2008 at 4:26 pm | Permalink

    OMG!!!!

    Hi Al!

    – Julie

  5. John on Forest
    Posted September 22, 2008 at 10:27 pm | Permalink

    Hi Julie

  6. John on Forest
    Posted September 22, 2008 at 10:30 pm | Permalink

    Oops. I thought Julie said “Hi all” turns out she said “Hi Al[exclamation]”

    Oh well, Hi again, Julie

  7. Ol' E Cross
    Posted September 22, 2008 at 11:44 pm | Permalink

    JoF,

    Glad to hear you are still on Forest. Nice to see.

    Hi.

    OEC.

  8. Posted September 23, 2008 at 9:31 am | Permalink

    Hey, thanks OEC.

    and Hi back.

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