All eyes in Pennsylvania are beginning to turn towards green jobs, as we focus on the overwhelming need to combat global warming, cut back on energy costs, and provide new opportunities for working families statewide. Pittsburgh recently played host to the first national Blue/Green Alliance conference, this year entitled Good Jobs, Green Jobs. The conference began a national discussion between labor, environmental, industry, financial, and government leaders on the economic, health and security benefits that are being and will be realized through the growth in the clean, renewable energy field, energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades, green chemistry, and many other environmentally-responsible endeavors.

A pre-conference event organized by cityLIVE, a monthly forum showcasing intellectual talent in Pittsburgh, brought s few of those national leaders together with a young leader from Pittsburgh to bring the green jobs conversation to a broader audience. Armed with a balanced blend of viewpoints, the cityLIVE forum featured moderator Nathaniel Doyno, executive director of Steel City Biofuels; Donele Wilkins, executive director of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice; Dr. Jerry Paytas, director of research for the Economic Architecture practice of GSP Consulting; and David Foster, executive director of the Blue/Green Alliance, a strategic partnership between the United Steelworkers (USW) and the Sierra Club.

In this podcast, PennFuture's Alex Bard visits the Labor=Green forum, exploring with the presenters many of the principal concepts. You have an important role to play in the movement to bring thousands of great green jobs to Pennsylvania. Use PennFuture's Action Center to contact your state senator urging timely “yes� votes on two critical pieces of legislation that will significantly change the way we make and use energy in Pennsylvania: SSHB1 and HB2200. Passing this legislation will lay the policy framework necessary to support new green pipelines and support industries, and consequently a brighter, more secure, and healthy future.

PennFuture invites your business, organization or group to sign on to the Great Green Jobs Campaign. Visit the links within our campaign headquarters to learn more, and become a leading force behind the green jobs movement by joining PennFuture as a member and supporter.