Everyone seems to be in agreement these days that green jobs are part of the key to solving the current financial crisis. Barack Obama outlined his ideas for how to accomplish this in yesterday’s speech. Here are some excerpts:

• “We’ll create 5 million new, high-wage jobs by investing in the renewable sources of energy that will eliminate the oil we currently import from the Middle East in 10 years, and we’ll create 2 million jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, schools, and bridges.”
• “It is time to protect the jobs we have and to create the jobs of tomorrow by unlocking the drive, and ingenuity, and innovation of the American people. And we should fast-track the loan guarantees we passed for our auto industry and provide more as needed so that they can build the energy-efficient cars America needs to end our dependence on foreign oil.”
• “I won’t pretend this will be easy or come without cost. We’ll have to set priorities as never before, and stick to them. That means pursuing investments in areas such as energy, education, and healthcare that bear directly on our economic future, while deferring other things we can afford to do without.”

John McCain is also interested in creating “green jobs” to help boost the economy.  How’s his plan different?  McCain’s talking about the nuclear sector, while Obama’s talking about the research and development of clean fuels and cars.

Read the transcript from Obama’s economic speech here.

Source:  nytimes
Photo:  Wikimedia Commons