Assignment 7-1

Laura Levesque
Assignment 7-1

The State of Maine Department of Labor issued a release late last week describing the first in a planned series of reports on the green economy sector in Maine. “Green Economy” is defined as a variety of industries and occupations engaged in activities that reduce the use of fossil fuels; encourage development of renewable energy sources; reduce pollution; increase energy efficiency; and minimize waste of natural resource. The release, “Maine’s Green Economy,” describes the scope as focusing specifically on the industry that comprises the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors in Maine.

The Maine Labor Commissioner noted there was a wide consensus that the growth of the sector would provide opportunity for workers and businesses.
“The availability of good data helps workers make informed decisions about career and training options, helps businesses identify opportunities in new markets, and helps policymakers, educators, and economic developers in shifting resources to where they are needed most,” said Fortman. “This report sets a baseline for us to move forward on a more definitive analysis of employment data and identify trends within the sector.”

Although recent employment estimates for renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors have varied, it is said to depend on the definition of “green jobs” used and the way the jobs were counted. Because the jobs are spread across a range of traditional and new occupations, it makes it difficult to tell the amounts of jobs and range of people which they would be offered to due to the knowledge that needs to already be known about the topic. The Different industry segments that are comprised by The Green Economy are :
Research, Design, and consulting services
Manufacturing
Renewal energy generation
Governmental and Regulatory Administrations
Energy Efficiency
Agricultural and Forestry