By Ranjit Arab •
March 6, 2008
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Editor’s note: Welcome to “Tangled Up in Green,” Red, Green and Blue’s weekly debate over the hot issues in environmental politics. Each week, writers Ranjit Arab and Adam Bowman will “throw down the glove” on current events involving environmental policy, legislation and citizen action. Adam and Ranjit are both graduate students in journalism at the University of Kansas, and currently enrolled in Professor Simran Sethi’s “Media and the Environment” course.
Does the town of Holcomb, Kansas sound familiar?
I’m sure it does if you’ve read “In Cold Blood,” or seen the movies based on the book and its author Truman Capote.
In a perverted way that negative association has been somewhat of a godsend. People remember Holcomb; they immediately recall it as the place where a senseless and unspeakable crime was committed.
Unfortunately, it looks like Holcomb may be preparing for a sequel, featuring yet another heinous act. This time it involves the attempts of Sunflower Electric Corp.—along with several lawmakers—to force an expansion of the power company’s Holcomb facilities, which would include two hazardous coal-burning electric plants.
By Maria Surma Manka •
February 13, 2008
I remember graduating from college and having that feeling in the pit of my stomach “Damn, now what?” Well, if you’re into clean energy, you may have some good prospects.
Renewable energy businesses are booming, but they’re competing quite intensely for talented people. Writing for Renewable Energy Access, Dawn Dzurilla noted that the “triple bottom line” of People, Planet, and Profit are motivating job seekers to enter the industry. Its rapid growth […]
By Michelle Bennett •
December 20, 2007
A “coal family” is a term I use to describe more than our source of income. Like many industries, there is a whole community and culture surrounding coal. In fact, given the remote regions where mines are often located, I would argue that coal industries create a unique and particularly strong culture. This has been true in Appalachia for over 100 years. […]
By Michelle Bennett •
December 14, 2007
I’ve heard a lot about a green economy’s potential and the boost it could promise for the job market. Living on Earth and others have reported on the topic recently. It’s big news if the promises come through: blue collar jobs for millions of Americans, upward social mobility, and an international industry for the U.S.A. to dominate. Let’s not forget the icing on the cake, the wide-spread benefits for society and the environment. It sounds like a […]
A recent study found that the clean energy industry is the fastest-growing sector in Massachusetts, easily beating out behemoths like financial services, healthcare, and communications.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Census was published by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public agency that runs a renewable energy trust fund of green power projects. The study found that clean energy industry had a 26 percent increase in jobs and now accounts for more than 14,000 jobs in
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Last week, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee passed the Green Jobs Act of 2007 (HR 2847) by a vote of 26-18. Originally introduced by Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA) and John Tierney (D-MA), the Green Jobs Act would authorize up to $125 million in funding to establish national and state job training programs for about 35,000 U.S. workers. These jobs training would help to address the shortages in green industries such as […]
