Helping or Hindering the Workforce?

In the first article, the authors express that renewable energy has a positive impact not only for the environment but for employment rates. Fuel energy has been declining in the fossil-fuel industry with little contribution from environmental regulations. Jobs in the fossil-fuel industry are primarily in operations and maintenance and jobs in manufacturing and construction are the primary focus in the renewable energy industry. 
The authors of the first article believe renewable energy has proven to create more jobs overall than fossil-fuel based industries. The coal industry generates only 3.96 person-years of employment, the solar industry generates 5.65, and the wind-energy industry generates 5.7. I believe these industries will prove themselves to create an even higher number of new jobs as more companies begin converting to renewable energy sources. The new jobs being created by renewable energy industries are predominate in construction, manufacturing, and agriculture. This causes workers of many different regions to have to relocate to find work in the changing field.
Job Transitions

Another factor to consider is the need to help the workers in fossil-fuel industries to transition into renewable energy industries. Programs that can train workers should be more available to average workers than they are currently. I realize that there are some tax incentives for companies to transition to renewable energy but the overall financial advantages of such a transition are either nonexistent or unrecognized.  Companies believe this transition to be costly and need to be educated on the financial benefits of this transition. This video exemplifies job opportunities in the renewable energy field.
                                                 Do Our Part 

Brad Berman, the author of the second article, emphasize the pros and cons of converting combustion engines into electric. The initial conversion is very expensive and so is replacing the batteries. However, the cost of  fuel can be as low as $200 per year. Evaluating the pros and cons of this transition should be the first step of anyone trying to convert their vehicle to electric power.

Image result for auto dealershipWe as a country need to do our part to help with this conversion into renewable energy. Converting combustion engines into electric powered vehicles is a contribution that we can all add to. However, this conversion can be more expensive than what meets the eye. The initial conversion can be anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000. Utilizing electricity costs about $0.05 to $0.07 per mile. I have a very fuel efficient vehicle and probably spend the same amount on fuel per month with my vehicle as I would with an electric car. The downside is that electric car batteries only last about two to five years and cost between $2,000 to $5,000 to replace. In the beginning, it would cost me the price of a used Subaru Forrester to convert my vehicle from combustion to electric. In the long term, I would need to calculate my annual fuel cost with my vehicle as is, then decide whether the battery replacement fee would be worth the money.

My next questions in this topic are directly related the motor vehicle transition. Is driving electric vehicle's a major factor in creating a greener carbon footprint? Where does the electricity come from? As I continue my research, I hope to find the answers to these questions.



References:

Kammen, Daniel M., Kamal Kapadia, Matthias Fripp. Putting Renewables to Work: How Many Jobs Can the Clean Energy Industry Generate? Reeport of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory. April 2017. Available from Google Scholar. Web. 14 April 2017.

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 13, 2017 at 7:15 PM

    Hi, Samuel,

    I find your topic very interesting. I actually have had this debate recently with some people, who have been in the fossil-fuel industry for awhile, or know people in the industry. I like that your summary of the first article you explain how it mentions the job generating benefit of renewable compared to fossil-fuel jobs and how there should be a transition for people to go from fossil-fuel to renewable jobs. I am curious how long battery replacements will be so expensive. As renewable energies gain steam, I would think that this price will start to decrease.

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