Going Green Would Generate Nevada Jobs

According to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, there are now 94,900 unemployment individuals in the state. As of last year, only 67,700 people were claiming jobless benefits. Rising to 6.6 percent in July, this huge increase has caused the state’s unemployment rate to surpass the national average.

NDETR economist Bill Anderson says that the instability of the national income, rising gas prices and issues with the gaming industry has caused many employers to do away with Nevada jobs(Click here).
“This year, however, the private sector not only failed to absorb the new entrants, but actually lost 7,400 jobs overall from the previous month,” said Anderson.

Despite these problems, new Nevada jobs are possible. A recently release report from the Center for American Progress stated that a $100 billion investment towards going green could create 2 million new jobs in the U.S. The creation of approximately 15,000 of these would take place in Nevada.

“In a time when people are hurting, 15,000 jobs seems like a good idea,” said Scot Rutledge of the Nevada Conservation League.

According to the Center, this $100 billion “green economic recovery program, would cost around the same amount as the recent federal stimulus package and could be paid for if the right to emit greenhouse gas carbon dioxide was auctioned off.

Of the $100 billion needed, $865 million would go toward the green effort in Nevada. The Center reached this figure by using the state’s gross domestic product and population. According to environmentalists, this amount could actually end up being somewhat higher after factoring in renewable energy resources and existing favorable state policy toward renewables.

Robert Buntjer, who is the assistant director of an apprenticeship program for electrical workers unions in Las Vegas, said that this measure may be what the state’s construction industry needs. With many workers losing their jobs as big projects such Echelon get put on hold, this could make a huge difference.

The report suggests that $346 million should be invested in energy efficiency in Nevada. Approximately $173 million would be used to improve mass transit and freight railways, $87 million would go towards to fixing the electrical grid and $260 million would be used to advance the wind, solar, and advanced biofuels technology in the state.