Efforts to put Philadelphia in the "Green Belt"
Friday, February 27th, 2009
The manufacturing jobs that once kept Philadelphia's economy up and unemployment down, may soon be replaced with green jobs. At an announcement this morning, two local groups said they'll use major grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to push forward with green job training programs. WHYY's Elizabeth Fiedler reports.
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The Energy Coordinating Agency plans to use a $1 million grant to turn a Kensington warehouse into a state-of-the-art Green Jobs Training Center. Executive Director Liz Robinson says trainees at the new building will be able to get hands-on, laboratory experience.
Robinson: "We will have about six different kinds of heating systems. We will have three or four different kinds of solar water heating systems. We will have bays, structures, pieces of roof, pieces of wall so that people can practice air-sealing and insulation before they go out in someone's home."
Robinson says training for contractors will also help them move from the slumping new construction business into retro-fitting older buildings instead. In addition, the Sustainable Business Network plans to use a $125,000 grant to launch a citywide green jobs apprenticeship program.
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