It’s sort of ironic that a city once nicknamed “God’s waiting room” is jumping to the front of the line when it comes to making this world better and targeting 100% clean, renewable electricity.
Jobs in clean energy industries like solar, wind, geothermal and hydroelectric are increasing while jobs in oil, natural gas, and coal extraction are decreasing worldwide. About 8.1 million people worldwide had jobs in the clean energy in 2015. That’s up from 7.7 million in 2014, according to the latest figures from IRENA.
As of December 2015, there were more than 8,800 wind techs — guys who climb wind turbines to perform maintenance — and wind techs are the single fastest-growing job in America, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Thanks to a push from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), I ran across this webpage where you can tell Donald Trump how you “want to Make America Great.” (Interestingly, “Again” has been removed from the campaign slogan.)
America’s leading manufacturer of solar panels First Solar has followed its already lackluster third quarter earnings report posted earlier this month with further bad news, announcing plans to cut 1,600 jobs, and revising its full-year 2016 guidance only a fortnight after it had already done so.
While editing an in-depth article on Arizona solar energy this week, this line caught my attention: “With over 375 solar companies serving the value chain in Arizona, there are more than 6,900 people employed in the state’s solar market.” 6,900 jobs in a state like Arizona is a big deal, and the solar industry is just getting started!
Donald Trump may (or may not) be good at negotiating in the business world, but he is a novice to international diplomacy and policymaking. It’s not just about bluffing or not in order to earn more money — international relations at this high level are about nuanced alliances, honor, and stability.
This is not a foreign policy blog, but it’s worth noting that cleantech is indeed the critical solution to two of the largest foreign policy issues in the history of the United States — oil dependency and climate change.
The election of 2016 was about anger, if you believe everything you read. More than anything else, we are told the American people are angry because globalization took all the manufacturing jobs that were once so abundant in the US and exported them to places like Mexico, China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
As one of the sunniest states in the US, Arizona has enjoyed early and great success as a leader in solar energy production. With 2,453 megawatts (MW) of solar installed, the US Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) ranks Arizona as #2 for total installed solar capacity.
