skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New Yorkers Prepare for Next Round in Green Jobs Battle

play audio
Play

Friday, September 16, 2011   

NEW YORK - Green technology may be good for the environment, but opponents say it's not going to generate millions of jobs.

It's one of the bigger debates raging at the moment. Stimulus opponents have seized on the failure of a solar-panel company which received $535 million in government loans as one sign that these programs won't produce the millions of jobs promised. But Lisa Tyson, director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, says it's way too early to write off green jobs - especially in New York, where the focus is not on solar but on using local construction companies to retrofit homes.

"These work. We know it puts people to work. For every 20 houses that are retrofitted, that's one job for the whole year."

A recent BlueGreen Alliance report identified nearly 1 million jobs that were either created or saved as a result of Recovery Act "Green Investments," Tyson says. More are on the way, she says, but it takes time and strong policy to make these changes work.

"We need good loan programs that have low interest rates, and we need companies to have the kind of support that they need to be able to ensure that they're going to be able to make money in these fields. That stuff is happening, but the field just needs that time period in order to get to where it needs to go."

It would be the wrong play for New York and the nation to give up on stimulating green-job growth now, Tyson says, because that same report also found a multiplier effect, where $48 million in Recovery Act funds generated nearly $150 billion in private-sector investment.

A wide cross-section of local union members, educators and advocates for working families will be mapping out their strategy to fight for more green jobs Saturday at the Long Island Progressive Coalition's Leadership Conference, to be held at Molloy College at Suffolk Center in East Farmingdale.

Green- jobs statistics are online at bluegreenalliance.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021