I watched last night’s debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama which took place in Ohio. Workers in Ohio have suffered more than in many other states from the loss of manufacturing jobs in the globalized economy. Both candidates had good ideas for how to create new jobs, but I especially liked Hillary Clinton’s proposal, which came near the end of the debate:
"You know, take a country like Germany. They made a big bet on
solar power. They have a smaller economy and population than ours.
They’ve created several hundred thousand new jobs, and these are jobs
that can’t be outsourced. These are jobs that have to be done in
Youngstown, in Dayton, in Cincinnati. These are jobs that we can
create here with the right combination of tax incentives, training,
and a commitment to following through."
Indeed, Germany’s eco-industry has become a job creation engine. One third of all the solar cells and half of all the wind turbines worldwide are manufactured in Germany. The management consultants Roland Berger have estimated that by 2020 more Germans will be employed in green industries than in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors. Green technology accounted for over 6 billion euros in exports in 2006.
As I wrote in an earlier post on SolarWorld, German green investment in the US already creating new jobs – jobs that cannot be outsourced to India or China.
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Do you know Craig Morris? He’s a journalist / translator specializing in renewable energy and living in “Solar City” Freiburg.
If anybody from the US really wants to understand the rationale behind Germany’s turn to renewable energy, the political and cultural background and why Electricity Feed Laws or Renewable Energy Tariffs have become such powerful tools, Morris’ book “Energy Switch: Proven Solutions for a Renewable Future.” is the first choice.
http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3919
Do you know Craig Morris? He’s a journalist / translator specializing in renewable energy and living in “Solar City” Freiburg.
If anybody from the US really wants to understand the rationale behind Germany’s turn to renewable energy, the political and cultural background and why Electricity Feed Laws or Renewable Energy Tariffs have become such powerful tools, Morris’ book “Energy Switch: Proven Solutions for a Renewable Future.” is the first choice.
http://www.newsociety.com/bookid/3919
I did not watch the debate and all I heard was how Hillary “attacked” Obama but nothing about substantive issues.
We’ve “gone solar” with solar hot water and photovoltaics for electricity. The payback is three years for the hot water and ten for the photovoltaics. Most can’t do this because it’s too expensive. We did get writeoffs that helped pay for the systems.
A good solution in places like this would be for municipalities to install setups for free on peoples’ property and have customers pay discounted rates for electricity.
My husband points out that hot water is a no-brainer here in Hawaii but expensive and tricky where there are frosts. Oh, and you need a roof or some land with the proper exposure.
Nice to hear that Freiburg has gone solar. I loved living there in the early 70’s.
I also lived in Freiburg and have fond memories. But last time I visited I was saddened to see McDonald’s Golden Arches on the Schwabentor.
For more on “Solar City” Freiburg im Breisgau see:
http://www.solarsiedlung.de/presse.asp?sid=5243843&id=267
Deutsche Welle also offers a short video film in English about solar energy in Freiburg:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMnB6V5yG1I