Dow Corning CEO Calls for Focus on Green Manufacturing

MIDLAND, Mich., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Immediate, decisive investments in the green manufacturing sector can help boost America's exports, lower the trade deficit, create jobs and increase its competitiveness in a dynamic world marketplace, according to Dr. Stephanie A. Burns, chairman, president and CEO of Dow Corning Corp. 'I'm convinced that green jobs, especially green manufacturing jobs, can be a major factor in our economic recovery,' she said. 'I believe that with the right mix of private investment, government support, and entrepreneurial spirit, we can revitalize the heart of our nation's economy – our manufacturing sector. We need to make this commitment now, or the net long-term effect will be the export of jobs today and the import of foreign-made solar panels tomorrow.'"

Forecast for solar-industry jobs: Sunny

Best states for energy efficiency | ElisaWood

If you live in Connecticut, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, North Carolina, New Jersey or Ohio your state is doing something right – a lot right – when it comes to energy efficiency.

The ten states deserve kudos, in that order, for policies that encourage energy efficiency, according to a report issued this week by the Center for American Progress and Energy Resource Management Corp.

If other states achieve similar market dynamics, the US construction industry may pull out of its current slump, says the report, “Efficiency Works: Creating Good Jobs and New Markets through Energy Efficiency.”

The US could add 625,000 full-time sustained jobs over the next decade if it retrofits 40 percent of the nation’s homes and commercial buildings, according to the report. Such an effort would bring $500 billion in new investments to upgrade 50 million homes and office buildings and generate as much as $64 billion a year in cost savings for U.S. electric ratepayers.

San Quentin inmates get advice on 'green' careers

SAN QUENTIN STATE PRISON -- People leaving prison face daunting employment prospects, but a new kind of job fair may have boosted some prisoners' chances at a sustainable future.

San Quentin State Prison played host Saturday to about 60 'green' employers, advocate groups and job-training centers, many of them from Alameda County. The idea, organizers said, was to build relationships between employers in need of affordable, enthusiastic labor and those leaving prisons, a group that has been hit particularly hard during the recession.

'We kind of based this on the Van Jones ethic,' said organizer Beth Waitkus, who runs the prison's Insight Garden Program. 'Everybody should have a chance to succeed in the new green economy.' Jones is a former green jobs adviser to President Barack Obama."

Community Colleges Get In on Green Studies

BEYOND “green-collar” jobs, like retrofitting a home to conserve energy or helping build a wind farm, an energy-conscious economy will need a new generation of environmentally smart managers, and that’s where community colleges are stepping up with new courses and degree programs."

The federal government is pouring $500 million into training for green jobs, and the sector devoted to energy efficiency is estimated to grow as much as fourfold in the next decade, to some 1.3 million people, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Its March 2010 report was financed by the Energy Department.

Wind turbine company to plant 600 jobs in Michoud

In what Gov. Bobby Jindal called 'a great win for the New Orleans area' and Mayor Mitch Landrieu termed an 'incredibly exciting announcement,' officials announced Tuesday that a British wind turbine company will begin manufacturing turbine blades and components in part of the rapidly emptying Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans.

Theo Botha, co-founder of Blade Dynamics, announces plans for the company to take up residence at the Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans.

Blade Dynamics Ltd., a 3-year-old company based on the Isle of Wight off the southern coast of England, designs and manufactures advanced blades designed to increase the efficiency and performance of very high power wind turbines."