The case against the revitalizing power of the “new green economy”

Elizabeth Kolbert writes:

The basic premise of Jones’s appeal—that combatting global warming is a good way to lift people out of poverty—is very much open to debate. Economists generally agree that the key to addressing climate change is to raise the cost of burning fossil fuels, either directly, through a carbon tax, or indirectly, through a cap-and-trade program. Low-income families are the ones that would be hardest hit by such a cost increase. They could be compensated through some kind of rebate, or a cut in other taxes; it’s been proposed, for example, that revenues from a carbon tax could be used to reduce the payroll tax. But it’s not at all clear that the number of jobs created by, say, an expanding solar industry would be greater than the number lost through, say, a shrinking coal-mining industry. Nor is it clear that a green economy would be any better at providing work for the chronically unemployed than our present, “gray” economy has been.

When I presented Jones’s arguments to Robert Stavins, a professor of business and government at Harvard who studies the economics of environmental regulation, he offered the following analogy: “Let’s say I want to have a dinner party. It’s important that I cook dinner, and I’d also like to take a shower before the guests arrive. You might think, Well, it would be really efficient for me to cook dinner in the shower. But it turns out that if I try that I’m not going to get very clean and it’s not going to be a very good dinner. And that is an illustration of the fact that it is not always best to try to address two challenges with what in the policy world we call a single-policy instrument.”

Matthew Kahn, an economics professor at U.C.L.A.’s Institute of the Environment, noted that public-works programs have a history of inefficiency. Why would an environmentally oriented public-works program be any different? “How do we make sure this isn’t just a giant green boondoggle?” he asked.

Jones’s response to such critiques is, in effect, to do them one better. Yes, it may be difficult to address climate change and poverty at the same time, he says, but it’s even harder to do so separately. “You’ve got to have a holistic, integrated set of solutions or you’re going to wind up with half your energy being used up to fight ‘Drill, baby, drill!’ ” he told me. “People say, ‘Oh, we’ll take a shortcut.’ Well, those shortcuts are a lot longer than they look.”

Exciting news for my fellow New Yorkers: 45 by 15

In addition to “15 by 15” — the goal of reducing energy use by 15% by 2015 that’s been in place for a couple of years now — Gov. Paterson is pushing the state to increase our Renewable Portfolio Standard (the amount of our energy we get from renewables) to 30% in that time.  They’re calling the plan “45 by 15” and I think it rocks.

The RPS goal represents a 9% increase from current levels (we get 19% of energy from hydropower, namely from Niagara Falls, and we get another 2% from other sources.)  If we reach the goal, it’ll put us well ahead of California, which is aiming for 33% renewables by 2020.

One of the ways the state is going to do this is by increasing the fee collected from utilities’ gross revenues to offset the cost of energy service, from 0.33% to 1%.  In my opinion, the harder part is going to be reducing energy consumption, but that’s where job creation comes in — we need people to audit and retrofit “leaky” buildings, especially in NYC.  Paterson says his plan will create 50,000 new jobs — welcome news in light of the sobering report that national unemployment is at a 16-year high.

Bonus: electricity = money — particularly here (our utilities are some of highest in nation).  By 2015, so we’ll be saving a lot of both.

3Qs with Myles Lennon of Urban Agenda

New York City has set ambitious plans for greenhouse gas emission reduction — 30% by 2030 (and 30% by 2017 for all city properties and the major universities).  But if all the initiatives involved in greening the city — energy auditing and retrofitting buildings, installing new lighting and heating and cooling systems, planting more trees, and upgrading public transportation, to name a few — if all those started tomorrow, there would be a crippling workforce shortage. 

Myles Lennon is working to make sure that when the city is ready to go green on a big scale, there will be a skilled and able workers to take on the challenge.  Lennon, a graduate of Brown with a background in organizing and international development, is the Senior Policy and Research Associate of Urban Agenda, an organization that applies action, research, and coalition-building to advance social, economic, and environmental justice.

“A couple years ago, it became apparent that green jobs were the jobs of the future,” Lennon said.  To that end, Urban Agenda convenes the local chapter of the Apollo Alliance, a national coalition of environmental, labor, and community activists that develop and advocate for sustainable energy policy.  And Lennon is one of the leaders of the Green Collar Jobs Roundtable, an impressive coalition that is creating a policy road map for workforce development and training in New York City.

1. What was your environmental epiphany?

I grew up in Queens right by the Long Island Expressway.  There were no trees and just a little park and two huge malls.  There was little green space and a lot of smog coming off the Expressway.  So ever since I was young, I was aware of environmental injustice.

Later, when I was working in Providence, I would pass through this bus station where there were many young people heading to and from public schools, and not a park in sight.  It was extremely dirty — I can’t even begin to describe it.  We were surrounded by buses, which are a symbol of good urban development, but they created so much smog.

For the young people of color who lived in this neighborhood, that was their environment, that was what they saw every day.  The bus ride that I took became a metaphor for the ride that so many others took from that dirty place to prison.  That’s poetic and abstract, but it was very real to me.  I saw the link of how people of color and young people are treated systemically in our society and how we treat our environment.

2. Who or what are you inspired by right now in the green movement?

I could easily name someone well-known — but my former roommate and good friend, Tom Lyons, was really critical about the way I consumed, and he inspired me early on, and continues to inspire me.

He made me conscious about the everyday things that I had never begun to think about, like the little plastic caps on cardboard orange juice containers.  I’d throw the whole thing into the recycling without making the effort to cut off the caps.  Or when I did the dishes, I’d run water and try to do it as quickly as possible, but he said, Why don’t you soap up the dishes before running the water?

The biggest thing was the temperature of our apartment.  In New York City, we don’t have control over the heat in our apartment.  The building I grew up in was terribly inefficient.  We’d have fans going and windows open in the winter because the heat was so set so high.  In fact, my parents still do.  I took the heat for granted.  When I moved to New England, I expected it to be warm inside when it was cold outside.  I hated Tom — he kept our place so cold.  He challenged the level of consumption that I was comfortable with and what I considered “normal.”  I realized that making those kinds of changes isn’t about making real sacrifices — it’s about changing what you believe is normal.

3. What are three ways you actively reduce your carbon footprint and one way you don’t?

I eat a local, vegan diet, so I’m not dependent on the inefficient dairy and meat industries.

I do not use any new plastic bags, ever — there are a few that I’ve been reusing for years now.

When I do the dishes, I soap them down first and don’t run the water while I’m washing.

And as for what I don’t do, I could make a much better effort at unplugging electronics when I’m not using them.

The Green Jobs Tsarina

Remember when, shortly after the election, I announced I wanted a job in the Department of Labor in the new Green Jobs division I felt certain would be coming?  I’ve since realized I’ve got a polar bear’s chance in the Arctic at getting a government job — which is fine, I’m happy doing what I do (and being funded by said government) — BUT ANYWAY, I am very pleased that the green jobs focus WILL materialize.

It’s Getting Hot In Here reports:

President-elect Barack Obama has tapped green jobs and immigrant rights champion Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA) to head his Labor Department. […]

Representative Solis was the key sponsor of the Green Jobs Act of 2007 and has been a vocal champion in the House of Representatives for investments in a new, clean energy economy that can spark new innovation and offer pathways out of poverty for millions of Americans.

Upon passage of the Green Jobs Act, Representative Solis, who represents heavily Hispanic portions of eastern Los Angeles County and east L.A highlighted the “opportunity to advance not only the energy security of our nation, but also the economic security of our families. Through targeted job training efforts,” she said, “we can support both our nation’s innovation and technological leadership and lift people out of poverty.”

PLUS, a colleague at the EPA Region 2 has said that the buzz words in the agency are “green jobs.”  So whoo-hoo.

Microfinance as the match to the flame

Andy Posner, a 24-year-old Environmental Studies masters student at Brown University, has started the Capital Good Fund, a program in Providence to provide small loans to low-income and minority people and women who want to start green businesses.

He writes that he was inspired by a green job training program in Providence where 25% of the graduates said they want to become entrepreneurs.  According to the director of the program, Mark Kravatz, “they see how green can be good for them, their family and their community, and they want to get in on the game.”

For all the talk about green jobs lately, funding has been slow to come.  There seems to be a fear by lawmakers that they will train too many people too soon, before the building retrofits and solar panel installation gets started in large numbers.  The strength of Posner’s program is that it builds jobs slowly — a small business can take on just a couple new employees every year — and can grow at the same pace as the market for energy-efficient technologies.  When that market takes off, as it surely will, these small businesses will be prepared to handle the demand.  And the profits will stay in lower-income communities, a truly sustainable model of growth.

Hat tip to Jake Brewer.

2.5%

That’s the average premium on green buildings, according to a study by the US Green Building Council and partners.  (NYT).

That’s far less the public believes — and well worth it, because the savings start as soon as the building goes “live.”*  Efficient heating and cooling systems mean lower energy bills, and green buildings with good indoor air quality and day-lighting increase occupant satisfaction, which can help attract clients and employees.

Last week, I helped organize a conference for the Newman Real Estate Institute on sustainable commercial interiors in existing buildings (the most important part of the market because it represents the greatest opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions).

Our speakers and panelists were behind some of the most innovative spaces in the world.  Their message was that a sustainable interior project can actually cost less than the conventional approach because it requires that architects, construction managers, and engineers work together from the beginning, streamlining the process and eliminating a lot of wasteful spending — the “integrated” approach.

Frank Sciame, the owner of a leading construction company that bears his name, said, “If we built cars like we build buildings, no one would be able to afford a car.”  It makes sense, really.  Intelligent design is intelligent in many respects, not just sustainability.

* In order to maintain savings over time and ensure that the building is as green as its designers promise it is, skilled management is needed.  That’s where green jobs — and my work! — comes in.