What's New

The promise of a green economy, the idea of creating the dual benefit of jobs creation and environmental benefit, has been discussed and debated at length.  On the one hand are those who see it as having the potential to be one of the great economic drivers of our time.  On the other are those who argue that these jobs are elusive and difficult to quantify.

A new study by the Brookings Institution, "Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment," seeks to address these concerns by presenting detailed employment statistics on the clean economy industries in the U.S. and its metropolitan areas.

Among the findings in the study:

• The clean economy, which employs some 2.7 million workers, encompasses a significant number of jobs in establishments spread across a diverse group of industries.
• The clean economy grew more slowly in aggregate than the national economy between 2003 and 2010, but newer "cleantech" segments produced explosive job gains and the clean economy outperformed the nation during the recession.
• The clean economy is manufacturing and export intensive.
• The clean economy offers more opportunities and better pay for low- and middle-skilled workers than the national economy as a whole.
• Among regions, the South has the largest number of clean economy jobs though the West has the largest share relative to its population.
• Most of the country's clean economy jobs and recent growth concentrate within the largest metropolitan areas.
• The clean economy permeates all of the nation's metropolitan areas, but it manifests itself in varied configurations.
• Strong industry clusters boost metros' growth performance in the clean economy.

Visit the Brookings Website for more information and to download the report.  In addition to the report is an interactive indicator map which provides aggregate information on the clean economy for metropolitan areas, states and the nation.

The Surdna Foundation announced today that Michelle Knapik has been named as the new Director of its Sustainable Environments Program.  Ms. Knapik will join the Foundation in mid-July, and succeeds Sharon Alpert who now serves as Surdna's Senior Director of Programs and Strategy.

For the past six years Ms. Knapik has been the Environment Program Director at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation in New Jersey.  In that role, she developed innovative grantmaking strategies to support sustainable community solutions, in close partnership with grantees, civic and business leaders, and funding colleagues in the region.  While at Dodge, Ms. Knapik also worked closely with the Foundation's  Arts and Culture program, funding projects at the intersection of the environment, culture and New Jersey's creative economy.

This joint report by The Reason Foundation, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and Transportation for America, introduces sevens transportation tools that can help improve our nation’s transportation system at taxpayer-friendly costs.

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From The Brookings Institution

Public transit is a critical part of the economic and social fabric of metropolitan areas. Nearly 30 million trips are made every day using public transit. Almost all of these trips occur in the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, which account for over 95 percent of all transit passenger miles traveled. People take transit for any number of reasons, but one of the most common is to get to work.

However, when it comes to the question of how effectively transit connects people and jobs within and across these metropolitan areas, strikingly little is known. With governments at all levels considering deep budget cuts, it is increasingly important to understand not just the location and frequency of transit service, but ultimately how well transit aligns with where people work and live. To better understand these issues, the Metropolitan Policy Program developed a comprehensive database that provides the first comparable, detailed look at transit coverage and connectivity across and within the nation’s major metro areas.

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