美國白宮「中產階級特別小組」26日在丹佛召開會議，會中副總統拜登要求白宮環境品質委員會提出為中產階級增加綠領工作機會及能源節約的計畫。
拜登表示，這項計畫以2月間實施的經濟振興方案為基礎。拜登說，人們總是不斷的問他，要如何擴增綠領工作的機會、綠色經濟如何協助中產家庭。於是，他要求環境品質委員會在90日內提報這項計畫書。
此計畫將增加對商業建物的翻新工作、提高美國住宅能源使用效率、並發展更好的工具，以協助人們找到綠領工作。
透過這項經濟振興方案（即美國復甦與再投資法案），白宮環品會已挹注經費於提高美國住家能源使用效率，以及住宅翻新及耐候化（weatherization）的經費。
這項復甦法案預計，耗資5億美元於綠領培訓工作：針對能源效率、與再生能源的工作職前培育。
在26日「興新綠領工作」會議上，白宮中產階級特別小組宣佈新綠領工作的培訓計畫，並已獲得這5億美元的資助。
該小組報告指出：「我們認為綠色工作泛指可協助環境改善的工作。包括：藍領工人將建立智慧電網（smart grid），將中西部的風電有效地傳輸到東西海岸主要城市。或者像『耐候分析師』（weatherizer），他們可為住家與公司診斷並修復能源效率低的問題。此外，綠領工作也泛指製造風力扇葉的綠色材質製造商、或是發展可再生能源，與耐候材質的科學家、及專業技術人員。」
能源部發現若對每個屋主投資2500美元，每年將可減少30%的能源消耗；意即，每年每戶平均節省了900美元的能源支出。
美國綠建築協會（U.S. Green Building Council）表示，在美國，建築物平均消耗72%電力，及39%所有能源。此外，建築物本身產生了全美國溫室氣體排放量的38%。因此，翻新住宅將能大規模地節約能源，改善環境。
At today's meeting of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class in Denver, Vice President Joe Biden called on the White House Council on Environmental Quality to present the task force with proposals to expand green job opportunities and energy savings for the middle class.
The proposals are expected to build on the foundation laid in the economic stimulus package enacted in February, Biden said.
"People ask me all the time - how can we expand opportunities for green jobs? How does a green economy help middle class families?" said the vice president. "That's why today I am asking the Council on Environmental Quality to report back to the task force in 90 days with proposals that expand those opportunities, and boost energy savings for the middle class."
Such proposals could include expanding retrofitting of commercial buildings, making American homes more energy efficient, and developing better tools to help people find green jobs, he suggested.
Through the stimulus package, formally called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the administration has invested in making America's homes more energy efficient, increasing previous funding levels for weatherization and retrofit of buildings.
The Recovery Act designates $500 million for in green jobs training for projects that prepare workers for careers in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors.
In its "Green Jobs Update" issued at the meeting today, the Task Force on the Middle Class announced a new green jobs training program funded by that $500 million.
"We defined green jobs broadly as jobs that help to improve the environment in some way," the task force states in the update. "That includes blue collar workers building out the smart grid to efficiently move the wind power (green, renewable energy) from the mid-west to major urban centers on both coasts. It includes 'weatherizers' who can diagnose and repair the energy inefficiencies in your house or business. And it includes the green manufacturers who made those wind turbines or the scientists and lab technicians who developed those renewable energy sources and weatherization materials."
The Department of Energy has found that for the average homeowner, a $2,500 investment in home retrofitting can reduce average annual energy consumption by 30 percent, saving up to about $900 a year for an average household.
In the United States, buildings consume 72 percent of electricity, and 39 percent of all energy, and buildings produce 38 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions. There is tremendous potential for saving energy and improving the environment by retrofitting these buildings, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
