Climate solutions = Jobs

Unlike politicians' vague promises of a green economy, a study from Duke University pinpointed specific carbon-reducing technologies that has the potential for future green job creations in the US, and in fact is said to be already existing in some parts of the US.

Researchers at Duke's Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness (CGGC) said technologies such as LED lighting, high-performance windows, auxiliary power units (APUs)for long-haul trucks, concentrating solar power, and Super Soil Systems (a new method for treating hog wastes), have already showed evidence of producing economic opportunities based on growth of some US companies that participate along the supply chain of these five industries.

"Until now, there was no tangible evidence of what the jobs are, how they are created and what it means for U.S. workers. We are providing that here," said Gary Gereffi, a Duke professor of sociology and lead author of the report. "We don't guess where the jobs are; we name them. Our report uses value chains to show that clean technology jobs are also real economy jobs."

Some companies highlighted in the report include LED lighting manufacturer Cree, Inc. in Durham, NC; Thermo King Corporation, an APUs manufacturer based in Bloomington, MN; and Infinia Corporation, an energy technology company that developed an innovative solar dish system, called the Infinia Solar System, specifically designed to be mass manufactured by U.S. auto manufacturers.

Adding to this is a story from the New York Times about the growing green jobs in Iowa and Ohio on wind farms and solar manufacture.