November 9, 2009
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EDF: Manufacturing Jobs Come from Green Transit
A report released Oct. 26 by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) demonstrates how increasing government investment in both conventional and green transit bus systems would create high-quality manufacturing jobs, especially in states with double-digit unemployment rates, while significantly cutting auto-related global warming pollution. States that would benefit from this connection, according to the report, include Michigan, with 15.3 percent unemployment; California, 12.2 percent; Ohio, 10.1 percent; and Indiana, 10 percent.
EDF noted that this study, Public Transit Buses: A Green Choice Gets Greener, is the 12th installment of the series titled “Manufacturing Climate Solutions: Carbon-Reducing Technologies and U.S. Jobs,” prepared by the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness and sponsored by the fund.
“If federal, state, and local policy were to shift to a clear, sustained commitment to public transit, the nation would have the manufacturing capability to meet the resulting increased demand for transit buses,” the study concludes.
The report highlights the importance of alternative fuel buses to U.S. public transit agencies, such as Los Angeles Metro’s 2,200 buses (88 percent of its fleet) powered by compressed natural gas and the growing role of diesel-electric hybrids. It also examines newer technologies such as hydrogen-electric hybrids.
“We’ve known for awhile that transit is good for the environment,” said Kathryn Phillips, an EDF transportation policy expert based in Sacramento, CA. “This study shows that transit investment also is good for the American manufacturers and American jobs.”
She continued: “Increasing government investment in bus transit systems could be our generation’s Works Progress Administration in terms of its economic and environmental impact. This report shows we have a great opportunity to create new manufacturing jobs during tough economic times and cut greenhouse gas emissions. We only need the political will to make it happen.”
The text of the report is available online.
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