UD 'center of excellence'
Moving toward his lecture's focus on the green economy, Carney
emphasized that global climate change drives much of the conversation
around green energy. He touted UD as a center of excellence in
environmental and energy policy and mentioned several well-respected
faculty members who have contributed to green-energy research and
development -- John Byrne, Allen Barnett, and Willett Kempton. UD is a
real leader [in this area], Carney said.
Carney said, Renewal energy offers a tremendous opportunity to
create jobs and whole new industries, but lamented that the U.S. is
currently losing its edge to Europe and China.
Carney cited General Motors as an example of job loss over time.
There was an old saying in this country, Carney said. As goes General
Motors, so goes the nation. Today GM has only about 52,000 employees
here in the U.S., down from 450,000 in 1979. In China, GM now employs
about 38,000 workers.
In characterizing the downturn locally, Carney mentioned the loss of
the GM Boxwood Road plant in Wilmington as an example of how loss of
manufacturing jobs, coupled with a recession, has devastated the
economy.
Green-energy manufacturing jobs
Carney said that green-energy manufacturing jobs hold promise, not
only for Delaware but for the nation. He commented that Fisker is now
manufacturing hybrid electric cars at the former GM plant in Delaware.
He stated that green energy represents a $6 trillion market globally.
This past election year brought 90 new members into Congress, and
Carney said that some of them do not accept the science behind climate
change.
However, Carney said, while America is debating whether global
climate change is real and defunding scientific inquiry, China has
already made its 'bet' by investing heavily in green energy. Carney
gave a recent example of a plant in Massachusetts that was being bought
out by China. The difference was in the wages -- $300 per month in
China vs. $5,400 per month in the U.S.
We have a great opportunity to create jobs in Delaware as
wind-turbine energy takes off, Carney said. He added that companies in
Delaware should try to make component parts, as Delaware can be
competitive with other states for these jobs. The key, Carney insisted,
is for Delaware to move quickly by attracting one of the two
manufacturers of wind turbines -- General Electric (off-shore) and
Clipper (on-shore).
In his recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama
urged the nation to win the future and out-innovate, out-educate, and
out-build with regard to the green-energy infrastructure.
Creating jobs
Carney believes the next 5-10 years will be really critical for the
country, as it gets budget deficits in order and the government sets
conditions within which private business can create jobs. He said that
this country should encourage the conditions that will create jobs in
America. It is his position, though, that the U.S. cannot continue to
be economic world leader by adding high-power manufacturing jobs at
the expense of exporting so many lower-skill-level manufacturing jobs
overseas -- for example, allowing the manufacturing of laundry washers
to be outsourced but retaining high-skill-level jobs such as aircraft
manufacturing.
Carney issued a call to action. We need to get busy on the policy
front, he insisted. Again he emphasized, Policies and priorities are
translated in the budget.
Article by Mark Deshon and Stephanie Patterson
Photos by Mark Deshon
Originally published by UDaily.