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More Solar Workers in US than Coal Miners, and Solar doesn’t Poison Drinking Water
http://www.juancole.com/2014/02/workers-doesnt-drinking.htmlMore Solar Workers in US than Coal Miners, and Solar doesn’t Poison Drinking Water
By Juan Cole | Feb. 15, 2014
By the end of 2013, the number of workers in the solar energy industry in the US had grown to 143,000. About a third of them are in California, followed by Arizona, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.
the wind power industry employed another 80,000 or so workers directly, and many more in transportation of components, etc.
Together, wind and solar energy workers far outnumber all the estimated workers in coal mining, coal transportation, and coal plant operation. Solar installation jobs alone outnumber seasonally adjusted full-time jobs in coal mining by a substantial margin.
In contrast to the rapidly growing solar and wind sectors, 151 coal mines were idled in the second half of 2013, with a loss of 2600 mining jobs. Coal is very dirty and cannot compete with wind and natural gas if the industry is made to conform to the Clean Air Act.