The Green Jobs Myth

One gets the sense from the rhetoric coming out of the Obama administration that the main road to recovery and future economic growth will be paved by an energetic federal commitment to renewable energy (often referred to as “green” energy). Such a state-directed campaign, they tell us, will create millions of new jobs and cement America’s global economic leadership in the 21st century. If they really believe this, we’re in a lot of trouble.

On its face, the argument that green energy is more labor intensive than “brown” (fossil fuel and nuclear) energy is dubious. After all, once the wind turbines or photovoltaic panels are put in place, there’s no need to mine the earth for fuel and, unless the windmills or panels break down a lot, there’s little call for large numbers of workers to keep the generators running.