Spokane7
26°
March 19, 2010 in City
‘Green’ jobs blossoming in state
Number of people working in sector doubles
Gregoire
(Full-size photo)
OLYMPIA – Washington counted twice as many people working in “green” jobs last year as in 2008.
Although changes in the way jobs were counted are responsible for much of that growth, the state still saw an increase in people building wind turbines, constructing new energy-efficient buildings or retrofitting old ones, and manufacturing or shipping the supplies needed to cut energy use or clean up ecologic messes.
Gov. Chris Gregoire hailed the new figures as rare economic good news in the midst of the recession.
“We have to transition to a green economy,” she said, announcing the new figures at the Port of Olympia, where more than two dozen arms for wind turbines were aligned on the lot behind her.
Washington set out to count “green” jobs in 2008, after setting a goal the previous year of having 25,000 such jobs by 2020. In that initial survey, it found 47,000 jobs in private businesses.
Last year it decided to count green jobs in local, state and federal government projects, too. That added another 23,000, including about 3,000 in Benton and Franklin counties, where a major cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is being fueled by federal dollars.
Spokane County had 5,239 green jobs, surveyors found, which is about 2.5 percent of the total jobs in the county. Nine other Eastern Washington counties had a total of 4,228 green jobs, nearly 6 percent of the jobs in those counties.
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Orange on March 19 at 6:11 a.m.
And I’m sure Krissy is taking all the credit. Doesn’t she look like she’s about to have a stroke?
JBlim on March 19 at 6:45 a.m.
Who would you credit, Republicans? Aren’t you guys still chanting for drilling offshore? Drill baby drill … .
empyrius on March 19 at 1:31 p.m.
Alright! When us Washingtonians re-legalize our Lord’s good green herb, marijuana, this November, the Evergreen State will have more green jobs than the entire rest of the world!
Our Lord deems green bud good for many more reasons than simply so we can get stoned!
Amen.
gmorton on March 19 at 2:42 p.m.
Ah, the greenie bandwagon lurches along, even though its tires are flat and the horses pulling it are lame and stumbling. And its rally squad in media is still cheering from the curb.
force_vector on March 19 at 3:07 p.m.
“Green” jobs are often created as a result of some govt agency fine against a company who is found to be responsible for an environmental condition and ordered to clean it up. They are not typically “market driven”. Also, the numbers associated with Hanford should not be included as they are already being counted as jobs “saved or created” by stimulus spending. And wtf does legalizing weed have to do with this? Articles lacking in real information and off-topic comments that show no ability to think rationally are making me wonder what this country is turning in to. Think beyond sound bites, use common sense, and for gods sake put down the bong before attempting to do so.
empyrius on March 19 at 6:28 p.m.
No need to be a hater now force_vector. C’,mon now, nobody harmed you, well besides “your” government, so no need to be all anti-green bro!
But when the words “green” and “blossoming” are in the same headline, well, I can then only think of our Lord’s wonderful marijuana!
Amen.
force_vector on March 19 at 6:39 p.m.
empyrius- i understand you are passionate about the legalization of weed. Trust me, I get that. I’m just saying it doesn’t have anything to do with “green” jobs unless you manage to make the connection with the green color of the plant. If that’s true, then a guess St. Patrick’s day and 4 leaf clover discussions are also on-topic. But since we are going down that road, let me say this: since when is marijuana that of the “lord’s”? All it is is a plant that alters the normal chemistry of the brain to give a false impression of reality and/or consequences of that reality. Seriously man, it’s just a plant, and when you smoke it, you just get high. An altered state of mind is nothing more than an illusion of clarity through of fog of incoherance. Now, I am neither a religious man, nor a pot smoker. I am just telling you how it is as a scientist. If you like it so much, great for you, I won’t be judgemental. But let’s not kid ourselves as to what it really is.
empyrius on March 19 at 8:15 p.m.
I hear you force. I am hoping that once we do decriminalize marijuana that actually many people could have productive careers in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana;, just like the many micro-brews that flourish here in the Pacific NW.
As with any substance that does alter our senses of perception, or, with anything we do in truth, moderation is the key to a healthy lifestyle. I had an accident last week, and I believe I may have busted a rib or two, or they are at least quite bruised, but I have still tried working out and even have tried playing some basketball with some youngsters and I am just making it worse (I have not been able to take a deep breathe without immense pain, let alone lifting weights or shooting a jumper/grabbing a rebound). I need to let my body rest and not try to keep on pushing it. Anyway . . .
For example. Even eating fruits and vegetables, which I am sure none of us do enough, yet I would not recommend just sitting and eating fruits and veggies all day long: even stuff that is beyond question good for a person must still be consumed moderatley while a person ideally participates in other activities!
I cannot afford marijuana, have not been able to for quite awhile, so I rarely have the pleasure of smoking any greenage nowadays. So hopefully re-legalization will bring about drastic price reduction also so a brother can enjoy the occasional puff.
I speak of Genesis 1:11-12 and 1:29-30. YHWH states explicitly that the flora and fauna of this world is good and that we are to be able to freely partake of every green herb! But if you do see somebody eating poison ivy (hence the name) please call them an ambulance!!!!!!
Peace bro