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Wind Power Employs More Than Coal Mining

Posted by Eric de Place
04/24/2009 12:00 PM
Proof that green jobs matter.

windenergyCNN reports on something I found fascinating:

The wind industry now employs more people than coal mining in the United States.

Wind industry jobs jumped to 85,000 in 2008, a 70% increase from the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday from the American Wind Energy Association. In contrast, coal mining employs about 81,000 workers... Wind industry employment includes 13,000 manufacturing jobs concentrated in regions of the country hard hit by the deindustrialization of the past two decades.

Is it time to start dialing down our pandering to the coal industry?

H/t to Alex Steffen



Comments
Posted by VeloBusDriver 04/25/2009 02:13 PM
Only if you can get some of those jobs into states with lots of coal and powerful politicians... However, given time, it will happen.
Posted by Jon Stahl 04/25/2009 10:45 PM
Impressive, and encouraging. But also a little apples-to-oranges, since AWEA is comparing the entire wind energy industry to just the mining operations of the coal industry. What about all the folks who work at coal power plants, etc.?

Still, the answer to your question is yes: less pandering to King Coal, please!

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