That’s what The Economist says of course. We don’t buy it. For instance, they don't share these figures--- how the renewable energy industry has added jobs at more than twice the national rate this decade. The half-baked commentary stems more from politicians pretending that everything is a free lunch and a nervousness surrounding some serious upcoming climate legislation. (But there was an uncomfortable moment where we wanted somebody else to carry the ball after John Kerry incredulously admitted to not knowing what cap-and-trade meant when talking about green jobs. Most Americans don’t and that’s okay but he’s not doing legislation any favors.)

With trepidation, the Free Exchange counters their points, offering some good policy changes like “taxing congestion on highways and using the revenue to build transit options will reduce emissions while improving the flow of people around and through economically important cities.” On a smaller, local scale for city government, there’s no myth only innovative ways that are attainable if you want it. Last year, we talked about Members of the Greenhouse Gas and Energy Conservation Team in Missoula who helped the city launch a clean energy project that calls for selling renewable energy certificates, which helped subsidize construction costs in the community. “It’s really low risk. There’s no investment involved. There’s minimal expense. And there’s a potential for some revenues to be generated,” said Brian Kerns, a member of the Conservation Team, in the Missoulian. Proponents modeled the project after a similar venture in Ashland, Oregon that worked. There, one dollar of every carbon offset sale went into a fund for green energy projects. One carbon offset equals 1,000 kilowatt hours or some 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide. In turn, the city recently constructed a solar package (panels, kiosks, educational materials, activities) for a school, with a total value of some $28,000.

There are numerous other examples of similarly successful little projects that could be boosted given a legislative push, but, once again, the clean energy sector has already proven itself sustainable.

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