You can't build 'green' without skilled labor

[Elderberry]

WND By Patrice Lewis 8/25/2023

You can't build 'green' without skilled labor

Exclusive: Patrice Lewis rips 'edu-snobs' pushing college when it's blue-collar workers we need

A few months ago, the New Yorker ran an article by David Owen entitled "The Great Electrician Shortage." Despite the title, the article opened with an anecdote about a plumbing emergency experienced by the author during a winter storm. Unable to solve his issue using YouTube videos, the author frantically tried to find a qualified plumber to help. Once located, the plumber fixed the issue, then noted: "There aren't enough plumbers now, Dave. What do you think it's going to be like in 10 years?"

The New Yorker is a famously left-wing publication, and even it acknowledges the obvious: There aren't enough plumbers. Or electricians. Or general contractors. Or pipe fitters. Or HVAC experts. Or stone masons. Or … well, you get the idea.

"Many skilled trades face similar shortages, and those shortages have environmental consequences," writes Owen. "The Inflation Reduction Act includes billions in tax credits and direct funding for a long list of climate-friendly projects, but all of them depend on the availability of workers who can execute and maintain them." Owen acknowledges that green infrastructure maintenance requires "welders, machinists, mechanics, carpenters, pipe fitters, and many others" to make it work, not to mention HVAC technicians, plumbers, and others in the skilled trades. [Italics added.]

Part of the reason for the shortage of skilled laborers is propaganda. "[F]or decades, employers, educators, politicians, and parents have argued that the only sure ticket to the good life in America is a college degree," notes Owen. "People who graduate from college do earn more, on average, than people who don't, but the statistics can be misleading. Many young people who start don't finish, yet still take on tens of thousands in education loans – and those who do graduate often discover that the economic advantage of holding a degree can be negated, for years, by the cost of having acquired it. Those who skip college frequently do better, and not just at first."

Another factor to consider is the current quality of higher education. For example, a new seminar is being offered at Cornell University on how queer, trans, black, indigenous and people of color experience care through food. According to the Daily Caller, "The seminar titled 'Have You Eaten Yet? QTBIPOC Care' aims to use written texts and popular media such as 'Lizzo's music videos' and 'RuPaul's Drag Race' to analyze how queer, trans, black, indigenous and people of color give, receive and experience care through food, according to the course listing."

More: https://www.wnd.com/2023/08/cant-build-green-without-skilled-labor/