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The Truth About Clean Energy Jobs: Efficiency Has Created 330,000 Jobs in Two Decades

Export dollars per job in the clean economy are almost double those in the broader economy.  Median wages are nearly 20% higher.

James Dixon, chairman of the National Association of Energy Service Companies, has a good op-ed in Politico on clean energy jobs.

Recent news reports might have you believe the rise of the clean energy economy is a myth. Not true. Just look at energy efficiency’s economic impact. Since 1990, the energy service industry has provided $50 billion in energy savings, $25 billion in public infrastructure improvements and created roughly 330,000 jobs.

Energy efficiency is an economic winner. This is not wishful thinking – it’s based on actual market experience.

I have seen how energy efficiency, a key component of our expanding clean and green economy, saves taxpayers billions of dollars, creates U.S. jobs and sparks the kind of energy innovations America needs.

Climate Progress has long argued that “Energy Efficiency Must Have a Starring Role in Putting America Back to Work.”  If we retrofitted just 40% of the nation’s residential and commercial building stock, we would mobilize a massive amount of domestic labor, more than half a million (625,000) sustained full-time jobs over a decade. This would generate as much as $64 billion per year in cost savings.

Dixon is a vice president for Con Edison Energy.  He is actually recommending a much more modest effort, one backed by  the Chamber of Commerce of all places:

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Fox’s Greening of the Emmy Awards is More Greenwashing by Climate Destroyer Rupert Murdoch

More Greenwashing by Murdoch’s Anti-Green, Anti-Humanity Newscorp

So I received a lengthy email from the PR wizards at Fox.  The subject line, “FOX GOES GREEN FOR RED CARPET ARRIVALS — Press Release and Photos.”  Apparently they believe all caps makes their greenwashing more compelling.  #FAIL.

I wrote far-too-favorably once about the “greening” of Fox in March 2009, giving Murdoch the benefit of the doubt because he spoke accurately about the science back in 2007 — see Jack Bauer becomes first-ever carbon-neutral torturer as Rupert Murdoch says “Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats.” But it was all BS.

As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.   Fool me over and over again, shame on the right-wing media

A company can’t be said to go green if it’s the leading purveyor of  anti-science, anti-clean-energy  disinformation around the world — see “Foxgate: Leaked email reveals Fox News boss Bill Sammon ordered staff to cast doubt on climate science” and “Murdoch’s NY Post Fabricates Statistic to Vilify Green Jobs” and “How Murdoch’s Times of London and Fox News Coordinate Their Deceitful Reporting on Climate Change.”

Rolling Stone was correct when they labeled Murdoch last year, one of the “The Climate Killers: 17 polluters and deniers who are derailing efforts to curb the climate catastrophe.”

FOX's Green It. Mean It.The email I was sent had this absurd logo Fox has been using:

The point, of course, is that they don’t mean it.  Climate Progress readers know that I am all in favor of individual and corporate action — indeed I spent over 10 years working with companies to help them adopt greenhouse gas targets and clean energy.  The Climate Savers program I helped World Wildlife Fund launch reduced CO2 emissions “by over 50 million tons by the end of 2010″ — businesses from IBM and Johnson & Johnson to LaFarge and Sony.

But all the individual corporate action in the world can’t make up for the lack of serious climate and clean energy legislation in this country, which Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has done more than any other to squash, indeed to make politically untenable for an entire political party in this country.  It is immoral and inexcusable and couldn’t be justified by the purchase of even a million solar panels.

And it’s sad, too, because Fox is doing some pretty interesting things to green itself.  Here is the whole email I was sent:

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McKibben on Moving Planet 9/24/11: “If We’re Going to Win This Global Fight, We Need a Global Movement.”

Moving Planet will be a day to put our demands for climate action into motion—marching, biking, skating—calling for the world to go beyond fossil fuels.

WHY: For too long, our leaders have denied and delayed, compromised and caved. That era must come to an end: it’s time to get moving on the climate crisis.

WHERE: All over the world [see map below for the event nearest you]

WHEN: September 24, 2011

WHO: You, your friends, your family, your neighbors

For more info, check the frequently asked questions page.


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Bill McKibben of 350.0rg and TarSandsAction has more:

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Update on Climate Scientists Defense Fund

The response was overwhelming to “Climate Scientists Defense Fund – Please Help.” As you may recall, Prof. Scott A. Mandia, explained why he and Prof. John Abraham launched the fund:

Clihttp://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/global_warming/images/defense_fund_logo.gifmate researchers are in need of immediate legal assistance to prevent their private correspondence from being exposed to Chris Horner and the American Tradition Institute who are using Freedom of Information (FOI) to harass researchers.   (For context please see: http://wapo.st/pQg0JC and http://wapo.st/oiua7V.)

The goal was to raise $10,000 in 48 hours.

Here is the update Mandia sent me this week:

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