Bright Green Economy

Wind energy can supply 20 percent of U.S. electricity needs by 2030 at a "modest" cost difference, a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report says.

The analysis predicts that the 20 percent wind scenario would cost about 2 percent more than sticking with the current energy mix, which relies more heavily on traditional fossil fuels.
"The 20 percent wind scenario entails higher initial capital costs (to install wind capacity and associated transmission infrastructure) in many areas, yet offers lower ongoing energy costs than conventional power plants for operations, maintenance, and fuel," said the report, which was written in conjunction with industry and environmental analysts. Under the scenario, 500,000 new jobs would be created.

Many predict that the future of job growth lies within a green economy. Expanding renewable energy industries, such as wind and solar, can offer high-paying jobs for skilled workers. Sitting in a warm Capitol Hill office building last week, a panel of green-collar job activists attempted to rally support among a room of sleepy Congressional staffers. At the end of the briefing, Van Jones, a civil-rights lawyer-turned-green jobs champion, delivered the message that jolted many audience members out of their afternoon haze. "We are about to enter stagflation," Jones said. "That means people get voted out of office."

We recently had a chance to talk with Mark Anielski, Albertan and author of The Economics of Happiness: Building Genuine Wealth. Mark has been working for many years on better ways of measuring progress, and this conversation delves into the potential of moving beyond GNP. Whether in measuring a sense of community or valuing ecosystem goods and services, better measures of progress can align us on the targets that really matter.

by Anna Fahey

There's lots of buzz about green-collar jobs these days (sort of like blue-collar jobs, but with a sustainable edge) -- whether you're listening to Obama, McCain, or Clinton; Gregoire, Kulongoski, or Schwarzenegger.

Taking one step back to size up American opinions surrounding sustainability, Worldchanging correspondent Joel Makower has once again collected a number of "green" polls concerning the subject, which came out just in time for Earth Day.

While looking through a variety of polls ranging from "substantive to silly to self-serving," Makower found that although the "public wants to buy green products and support good companies," they often don't know how they should define "green" and "good." What's more is that they are willing to let corporations do the defining for them:

By Grace Augustine

The promise of the green economy and the clean-tech revolution is that they will bring a new wave of job opportunities — productive and respectable jobs at every part of the economic spectrum, from line workers to senior managers. Nonprofit groups like the Apollo Alliance have made this part of their raison d'etre.  A steady drumbeat of studies since the late 1990s has told us that burgeoning markets for solar, wind, clean transportation, and other technologies would represent the next big wave of job creation. Cities and states have been positioning to become clean-tech hubs, eyeing the workforce development potential. Organizations representing low-income populations have been viewing the green economy as an entry point for those near the bottom of the economic ladder.

Earlier this month, I posted a piece musing about the possibility of home delivery becoming a bigger lever for sustainable living. One of the big challenges there, of course, is that we're not always home, and leaving packages on our stoop is not always safe.

Recently, though, Martin Tillman turned me on to Deutsche Post's Packstation.

Packstations are sort of like neighorhood parcel ATMs: they hold packages which couldn't be delivered to you directly for you to claim with a swipe card and a pin. You get SMS'd or emailed a notification and pick up the package at your convenience. You can also send packages out. They seem to work: