Goal for Green Jobs Tanks in Seattle

August 17, 2011 in Green Business, Green Business News, Green News, Green Jobs Washington DC, Green Politics, Political News, Green Stories with 38 Comments

Seattle Strives to Create 2,000 Green Jobs - Image from Wikipedia

A $20 million federal grant that the city of Seattle received last year and was supposed to result in 2,000 green jobs and help low-income people only led to 14 green jobs, the city said this week.

The grant was slated to produce not only 2,000 green jobs in Seattle but also help retrofit 2,000 houses in poor neighborhoods as part of a weatherization effort, according to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. However, the mere 14 jobs created by the grant are administrative positions rather than living-wage jobs.

“It’s been a very slow and tedious process,” said Micahel Woo, director or of a social justice and environmental group called Got Green. “It’s almost painful, the number of meetings people have gone to. Those are the people who got jobs. There’s been no real investment for the broader public.”

Economy blamed for lag in green jobs in Seattle

The economy and poor timing are being blamed for Seattle’s failure to generate more green jobs using the $20 million federal grant. At the time when Seattle got the grant award, many low-income people – whom the grant targeted – were experiencing foreclosures and rising unemployment.

As a result, only some hospitals and the Washington Athletic Club have received funding from the grant.

“The outcomes are very disappointing,” said Howard Greenwich, policy director of an economic justice group known as Puget Sound Sage. “I think the city has worked really hard, but no one anticipated just how bad this recession was going to be and the effect it was going to have on this program.”

The goal for Seattle now is to retrofit at least 100 houses each month to create 2,000 jobs by 2013, when the federal grant funding stops.

“We’re not where we want to be, but we have a path forward,” said Joshua Curtis, city manager for Community Power Works, a program that funds low-interest loans for buildings to complete energy-efficient upgrades.

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About YaShekia King: YaShekia King, of Indianapolis, Ind., began writing professionally in 2003. Her work has appeared in several print and online publications including the “South Bend Tribune,”Ehow.com, Wisegeek.com and “Clouds Across the Stars,” an international book. King holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Ball State University. She also is a licensed real estate agent, is a clinical certified dental assistant and is completing her master’s degree in human resource management through DeVry University. Connect with YaShekia on YaShekia King

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