WSJ Blogs

Real-time commentary and analysis from The Wall Street Journal
Environmental Capital

Green Jobs: The ‘Fiscally Conservative’ Stimulus Spending

    • Green jobs, what a load of bull. Look at who these folks are and their skills. Lawyers, media advisors, fund raiser, and internet communications experts are not green jobs.

      Never, ever will they create productive jobs Parasites all.

    • I agree Kit. With the exception of the parasites, most of the green jobs will be low skilled, low wage jobs, such as wielding a caulk gun. While it may help temporarily with the urban unemployed, it is unlikely to create stable long-term well paid jobs.

    • Only an economist would argue that giving unemployed people jobs is bad because it decreases labor productivity.

    • Ralph

      When I used the word parasites I was not thinking of those workers who will be caking windows and installing insulation for the elderly. Check out Van Jones and his associates. At all of those organizations that are long on talk and short on good deeds.

      I intend no disrespect for organizations like Habitant for Humanity that can stretch a dollar seven ways to Sunday.

    • I get a kick out of green job critics. Look at it this way. What is the true cost of energy? Don’t know, do you.
      Start adding up the effects of going green. You might begin by multiplying the number of MW not produced from coal because of green jobs. What’s the cost of producing those MWs if there’s no green jobs? How many coal fired MWs won’t be produced because of base wind turbine facilities? How many West Virginia mountains will be saved from ruin by saving those MWs? These are all savings from green jobs. These savings must be counted for when considering green jobs. And I haven’t even started to add up the savings from not buying the $140 per barrel oil we’re most assuredly going to re-visit, and no doubt exceed.
      The old model is toast. It’s a legacy sunk cost we’ve just got to write off.

    • Pls Note: Complainers don’t Help! Why not join the new way for a while, give it a try and see if your positive input could help, rather than always criticize and complain? GOP had it for last 10 yrs and destroyed all, that is the bottom line, time to try something new. Welcome, now Get on Board!

    • “time to try something new”

      What are you talking about? Having a well insulated and efficient house is not anything new. I do not have a problem with change if you tell me what the change is. So far I do not see any change except the number of the times the word ‘green’ is used to justify waste. Listen to these people, they are only speaking in vague generalizations. We can not change if the the ‘new ‘ is a secret.

    • It is simple to get a first cut on what’s good, and what’s bad. It’s good, if Bush and the Great Oil Party are against it, because they know it will kill oil like almost what happened in 1986 when oil fell below ten dollars a barrel. It’s bad, if Bush and the Great Oil Party promotes it, because it is an unworkable decoy used to distract the public to lead the public down a dead end.

    • Of the two major approaches to using less oil, conservation and alternative energy sources, conservation works the fastest, as vividly demonstrated in the last half a year, when oil price plummeted from $140 to $40 dollars a barrel in almost a blink of the eye, as a result of conservation enforced upon the public by the collapsing economy. People just drove less, car pooled and started to buy smaller cars. However, this type of conservation in car use is not a permanent type of conservation. As soon oil price drops low, people will drive more and buy bigger gas guzzling cars, and oil price will zoom back up. Less oil use for cars is a none permanent type of conservation. Permanent types of conservation are like installing insulation or developing alternative energy sources. Once installed, insulation will not be ripped out after oil price drops after the conservation measure. It will permanently keep oil price low. That is why the Great Oil Party has been fighting tooth and nail to obstruct these types of permanent conservation measures.

    • Okay Rich when are you going to start? All the thing you described are not new. I am not sure why you want to blame the GOP for you being an energy pig. If you can not get insulation in the roofs of homes in 40 years, I got to think you are too incompetent to get the job done.

      Rich you can get a caulking gun and all the material you need for $5. Newer caulking material lat a long time. Just how may $200k parasites do we need to run these programs?


      First to answer why GOP stands for the “Great Oil Party” in the last thirty years, read “The Prize” by Yergin pages 750 to 764 paperback version. In those years, GOP had either oil men and/or oil state Governors in the White House:
      Reagan (oil state Calif Governor) and Bush senior (oil state Texas oil man); Bush senior; and Bush jr and Cheney (oil service company exec). The book described how in 1986 when oil price fell below ten dollars a barrel as a result of downsizing cars by law of the previous years, and by using computer controlled fuel injection efficient engines, oil use for cars were drastically reduced resulting in the collapse of OPEC unity, vice-President Bush went to Arabia to tell OPEC to shape up and to jack back up the price of oil, which resulted in a three fold increase of oil price by the US government with the approval of fellow oil state President Reagan to orchestrate OPEC to reunify in jacking up oil price. As if that wasn’t enough, Reagan trashed the car milage law, and trashed funding of alternative energy development and research. The Bushes continue to obstruct the development of alternative energy developments, and obstruct conservation efforts that threatened wasteful oil use, culminating in $140 a barrel for oil, and adding to the subsequent economic collapse. Now, they are still at it by trying to get another oil state Governor of Alaska into the Vice-Presidency. Read the book, and see that it is oil profits before country.

      As to getting a five dollar caulking gun, why not at the same time get a five dollar pen knife, a five dollar syringe, and do your own deliveries, circumcisions, anti-biotic injections etc. For the same reason that most people are not skilled enough to do their own doctoring, car repair, television repair and so forth, most people are not trained to insulate their houses properly without risking damage or injury. Sure with training, most able bodied people can get simple sub-roof insulation done properly, but GOP’s are not for organized training either. Yea, while getting the five dollar calker, get a five dollar text book and eliminate the need to go to public schools. Who needs formally trained public teachers? Good luck trying to get into collage. Oh, yea, just get a five dollar college text book.

    • Wow Rich

      Let me take the time to thank all oil men who work 24/7 to make sure we have all the energy we need.

      I think there are some things Rich does not understand. Some jobs are not green but if we are going to build windfarms we need to train technicians to repair them. We are already doing this. These are not new jobs.

      Second I do not have a problem with government doing a tasks if they do it well. All the people I know who home school do so because their local school district fails get the job done leaving kies without the skills to run a caulking gun.

      So if the local union hall establishes apprenticeships in installing cost effect conservation devices, I am all for that. However, what we will get is the clueless like Rich wasting money creating make work projects like digging ditches and filling them in.

    • A common misconception is that you have to be a “green engineer” to work for a renewable energy company. Well, that type of ideology is far from the truth. Renewable energy companies are hiring Accountants, Analysts, Project Managers, Developers, Maintenance professionals, Administrative Assistants, recruiters, installers, interior designers and I can go for ever. The point is this. You need to make yourself visible to those who are hiring. It’s equally important to see the job postings of those who are hiring in the “clean” sector. Take a look at or (5MGJ.ORG)

Add a Comment


About Environmental Capital


    • Environmental Capital on Twitter
    • Environmental Capital on Facebook