We need green jobs now

The destructiveness of Hurricane Patricia has just reminded us that the horrors of climate change are continually upon us! Indisputably, global warming is causing extreme weather events to emerge more frequently and more severely. Totally renewable energy for our city by 2030 is a commitment that is essential for our survival and flourishing.

But there is an equally destructive force plaguing our society. Not as dramatic as hurricanes, the pervasive unemployment and under-employment in our inner cities cripples millions of lives from generation to generation. According to Jim Clifton of Gallup, only 44 percent of jobs in the U.S. employ people for 30 or more hours per week and provide a regular paycheck. And of those officially reported jobless, the racial disparity is shocking. Last year, the official unemployment rate for Latinos was 8.3 percent. For African Americans, it was 11.9 percent, double the 5.9 percent for whites. These figures, of course, ignore the huge numbers of would-be workers who have simply given up the futile search for a full-time job.

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, both of these vital issues will be addressed in a forum jointly sponsored by the Bronx Climate Justice North organization and the Manhattan College Center for Urban Resilience and Environmental Sustainability. Speakers will focus on the need for green buildings throughout the Bronx and on the need to train and hire many inner city workers to renovate and build green buildings.