Federal Green Jobs Act not being implemented!
We succeeded in winning passage of the federal Green Jobs Act of 2007, which authorized $22.5 million to create a pilot program to identify needed skills, develop training programs, and train workers for jobs in a range of green industries – including energy efficient building, construction and retrofits, renewable electric power, energy efficient vehicles, biofuels, and manufacturing that produces sustainable products and uses sustainable processes and materials. It targets a broad range of populations for eligibility, but has a special focus on creating “green pathways out of poverty.”
Unfortunately its been over six months since this Act was passed and the Labor Department has not yet made plans for this program. Please call the Department of Labor at 202-693-6000. Tell them you expect full enactment of the Green Jobs Act of 2007. You can also email the Dept of Labor at: http://www.dol.gov/cgi-bin/contactus.asp?agency=OASP
Victory on the Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act!
Massachusetts has passed the Global Warming Solutions Act setting us on the path to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.
The legislature also passed the Green Communities Act and a Green Jobs investment bill; the trio of bills is a huge step forward for climate protection. We didn’t get everything we wanted and we’ll still have lots of hearings to attend as the regulatory agencies start to implement these mandates. No time to rest on our laurels!
Demand a global climate treaty pegged to 350 ppm!
Climatologist James Hansen, head of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, recently told the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Climate Change that the chief executives of large fossil fuel companies should be put on trial for crimes against humanity and nature. He also asserted that because we haven’t done anything yet to curb our emissions, he is certain that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is already beyond the safe level – we’re already at 385 parts per million of carbon dioxide, and it’s increasing at a rate of 2ppm a year. The “safe” level, according to Hansen, is between 300 and 350. (Read excerpts from his testimony at
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/6/23/164650/123?source=daily)
Join BostonCAN’s 350 campaign committee to help spread the word about the urgency and magnitude of the changes we need to protect ourselves from climate instability. Call 617-278-1885 for the next meeting date.
