Rebuilding America
Green-collar jobs do not have to be high tech.
Talk of a new, clean-tech economy brings to mind cutting-edge products like plug-in hybrids and photovoltaic solar panels. That makes President Obama's much-publicized strategy to bolster the economy by creating a green workforce sound pretty cool. But Van Jones, the White House adviser tasked with creating green-collar jobs, dispelled that notion: "We're not talking about Buck Rogers, Space Age stuff," he said. "We're talking about caulking guns most of the time."
And he's not kidding. Sealing windows is a major front in the battle against global warming. In the U.S. as much as 25% of heating is lost through inefficient windows. The White House has allocated some $5 billion for weatherizing homes and public buildings.
NEXT: Heavenly solar plants
Talk of a new, clean-tech economy brings to mind cutting-edge products like plug-in hybrids and photovoltaic solar panels. That makes President Obama's much-publicized strategy to bolster the economy by creating a green workforce sound pretty cool. But Van Jones, the White House adviser tasked with creating green-collar jobs, dispelled that notion: "We're not talking about Buck Rogers, Space Age stuff," he said. "We're talking about caulking guns most of the time."
And he's not kidding. Sealing windows is a major front in the battle against global warming. In the U.S. as much as 25% of heating is lost through inefficient windows. The White House has allocated some $5 billion for weatherizing homes and public buildings.
NEXT: Heavenly solar plants
