Everyone knows what blue-collar and white-collar jobs are, but now a job of another hue ? green ? has entered the lexicon. Presidential candidates talk about the promise of ?green collar? jobs ? an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions view these new jobs as replacements for positions lost to overseas manufacturing and outsourcing. Urban groups view training in green jobs as a route out of poverty. And environmentalists say they are crucial to combating climate change. No doubt that the number of green-collar jobs is growing, as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy.
See "Millions of Jobs of a Different Collar", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, March 25, 2008