How It's Used

“The so-called green-collar alliance helps unions shore up some of the political clout they have lost with falling membership, says Ms. Rosenberg. And some traditional union issues, especially those related to workplace safety, naturally dovetail with environmentalists' concerns. As far back as 1948, the United Steelworkers donated $10,000 to a public-health study on climate change.”

—no author, “Informed Reader: Unions See Environmentalism Creating Jobs, Adding Clout,” The Wall Street Journal, October 8, 2007, p. B8.

"The Conservative leader plans to counter-attack today with a speech outlining Britain's economic future under the Tories and reiterating his warning about Labour landing the country in debt. He will announce an initiative for 'green collar' jobs and say that the Conservatives are studying a plan to give state aid to green industries and create a market known as the Green Footsie [Editor's Note: "Footsie" after the FTSE 100 index for the London Stock Exchange] to allow people to invest in green companies."

—David Hencke and Ashley Seager, "Brown takes drive against recession to regions: PM plans jobs summit with business leaders: Workers in employment to be given new skills," The Guardian (UK), January 5, 2009.

"But clean-tech projects like intelligent grids and broadband take a long time to implement. Can we stimulate both our economy and our people in time? Maybe rather than just giving everyone a quick $1,500 to hit the mall to buy flat-screen TVs imported from China, or creating those all-important green-collar jobs for low-skilled workers—to put people to work installing solar panels and insulating homes—we should also give everyone who is academically eligible and willing a quick $5,000 to go back to school. Universities today are the biggest employers in many Congressional districts, and they're all having to downsize."

—Thomas L. Friedman, "Tax Cuts For Teachers," The New York Times, January 11, 2009.

"'We need to get our act together,' said Gauri Singh, joint secretary in India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, which was set up 26 years ago, 'because India is growing faster than anyone can imagine. Renewable energy will have to supplement conventional power supply.'

"'Our priority is to achieve energy security and self-reliance. Climate change is not the main driver for renewable energy in India, it is a co-benefit,' she added, echoing a debate in the United States, where renewable energy is being sold less as a way to save the planet than as a way to create new 'green collar' jobs. Despite the deepening energy crisis, renewable energy, predominantly wind and biomass, make up 3 percent of India's total electricity production. Solar energy is not even a fraction of that, though India receives abundant sunshine throughout the year."

—Rama Lakshmi, "A Growing India Sets Goal to Harness Renewable Energy," The Washington Post, July 19, 2009, p. A15.

"John Barrasso, a Republican senator from Wyoming, said the only people who would understand the cap-and-trade system were 'the elite on Wall Street'. 'I'm concerned that a cap and tax is going to be a recipe for green-collar crime,' he said in a recent forum."

—Anna Fifield, "US climate bill faces stiff Senate opposition," The Financial Times, September 29, 2009.

Links

Related on eAlmanac
Blue Collar
Gray Collar
Pink Collar
White Collar

Beyond eAlmanac
Wikipedia article on Green-Collar Workers
"Word Watch: Green Collar" story from "On the Media" from National Public Radio (US)
"Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World" from the United Nations Environmental Program