Green Jobs

Green activists insist that curbing CO2 emissions will be a huge economic boost. This claim is being repeated quite often. Here is an example. The idea is that new industries will open up with lots of opportunities. How will this work in real life? Let me make a proposal.

Congress passes legislation mandating that everyone has to own a car that gets 30+ MPG within the next two years. They also mandate new efficiency requirements for heaters and air conditioners and pass minimum insulation standards, all to be implemented in the next couple of years.

Not only will this have a major effect on CO2 emissions, it will revitalize the automotive industry and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the home HAV field.

Do you see the flaw in this? If not then think about the cost to you. I just proposed a mandate of tens of thousands of dollars. Where will you get the money? Will you stop going on vacation? Forget about purchasing new computers, HD TVs, and home appliances? Cut back on movies?

These cutbacks will cause massive unemployment. Will all of these people be able to find new green jobs building cars or installing insulation? Probably not, but this is what the green activists are promising.

What they are calling for is an unfunded mandate. Power companies will have to close perfectly good, coal-fired generators and replace them with more expensive ones. Yes, there will be new jobs but there will also be massive job loss elsewhere.