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Greener Pastures: A Budding Clean Energy Career Market Arises in a Tumultuous Economy

Even as Wall Street regains confidence and U.S. stock and bond trading regains momentum, American working wages are not expected to rise; unemployment is increasing, and the financial outlook for many households in the lower income brackets ranges from grim to dire. Although the stock market has rebounded from the downturn, the stability of the United States economy is still in question. Many economists even worry that the economy could tip into another crash, potentially worse than the previous.

But even amid such doubts in the future of domestic commercial enterprise, there is one emerging industry that is clearly headed up and not down. And that is the recent innovation and investment in developing new sources of clean, sustainable energy-in other words, the field of green energy technology.

As climate change begins to affect the globe, the motivation to cut carbon emissions has never been so urgent. And even though many of the green movement's plans and goals are still in the research and development stage, so-called "green-collar" jobs are already beginning to stream into the job market. This influx of new jobs, not all of which require specialized skill or training, can be observed throughout the nation and is expected to increase.

One surprising demand of the new job market is the need for more farmers. In order to make a transition from factory farming (which, in addition to other environmental detriment, burns a great deal of fossil fuel) to sustainable agriculture, an increase in the number of smaller farms is necessary. Add this to the fact that most owners of small farms are senior citizens, it becomes clear that there may soon be an enormous demand for more farmers.

Growth in green job market is not only rising in the United Stated, but all around the world-a source of new revenue all across the global economy. Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme announced a plan to promote green industry worldwide and empower world governments to create new jobs that will help fight the battle against global warming. Scotland, which has more green energy-producing potential than any other European country because of its wind and tidal power, is making changes to its energy policy in order to tap these reserves. In many South American countries, micro-hydro plants and solar panels are bringing electricity for the first time to rural and indigenous communities in very remote areas, far away from any electric grid. Even in troubled Pakistan, aggressive measures toward green technological and industrial growth are being initiated as a national plan to bring financial relief to millions of impoverished Pakistanis.

Still, the green job market-as with any new market-is not impervious to outside forces. Many worry that the new conservative rise to power in the United States legislature will cut funding for clean-energy research and venture capital. However, this will not likely become a major concern, since democrats negotiated a quid-pro-quo arrangement with republicans soon after the election, agreeing to renew tax cuts for the rich in exchange for continued funding for progressive environmental initiatives.

In spite of the world's confused economic travails, even more green-collar job growth appears to be right on the horizon.

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