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Questions for: ‘Today’s Energy Jobs Are in Solar, Not Coal’

Article: Today’s Energy Jobs Are in Solar, Not Coal

Before Reading

Study the graphic above, or in a larger format at the top of the article. Notice that the three boxes on the left (natural gas, oil and coal) represent energy generated from fossil fuels, and the boxes on the right (solar, bioenergy, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and nuclear) represent renewable/low emission technologies.

Now get ready to do some math. Of the 1.9 million total jobs last year that employ people to create energy of all types, add up how many jobs are in each of those two categories: fossil fuels and renewable/low emissions. Which of the two categories employs more people?

Now look at the boxes within each of the two categories. Which box has the highest number of jobs within the fossil fuel category? Which box has the highest number of jobs within the renewable/low emission category? Which box within each of the two categories has the lowest number of jobs?

Finally, compare the number of solar jobs with the number of coal jobs. Which of the two has the higher number of jobs?

Questions for Comprehension and Analysis

1. What has President Trump promised to do regarding energy jobs? What has he so far ignored?

2. Of the 373,000 Americans working part or full time in solar energy, what percentage of them spend the majority of their time on solar projects?

3. What types of solar energy jobs are most common, even though solar power still generates a small share of the United States’ energy output?

4. What has happened to the number of coal jobs since 2012, and why?

5. What is the total number of energy workers if jobs in transmission, storage, distribution, retail, manufacturing and installation are included?

6. Study the six maps of energy jobs distributed around the country by state. Why are there more solar jobs in California, and where is wind energy employment the highest? Why?

7. Which two states employ the most coal workers? Do you think coal workers, whose jobs are diminishing, would benefit if their states created more solar and wind energy jobs? Why or why not?

What Do You Think?

The last link within the article shows that in February, the power grid from Montana to Texas became the first United States grid operator to get the majority of power from wind, at 52 percent.

If you could create more jobs for energy workers, what types of jobs would you create, and where in the country would you create them? Why?