[Update via Millard Fillmore's Bathtub - no he didn't. That'll teach me to rely on the Main Stream Media]
Over the last few years, political parties of all philosophies in all countries have started talking about “green jobs”, and promising the magical creation of tens of thousands of fantastic employment opportunities associated with renewable energy, typically by proposing government subsidy of factories, research grants, installation grants, subsidised connection to power grids (Renewable Obligation Certificates) and so on. Just about every western electorate has heard the “green jobs” messsage, including as a prominent element of Barack Obama’s Presidential pitch.
Looking at this big pack of political leaflets from the 2010 General Election, you can see that “green jobs”, “green growth” and general “greeness” features prominently. The UK Green Party did it all with bells on, their aspiration being “A million new jobs. Greener Industries will provide more employment”
Of course, it’s all a load of cobblers.
Spain was one of the first developed nations to enact a Green Jobs industrial Policy, starting in 2000:
The [URJC] study calculates that since 2000 Spain spent €571,138 to create each “green job”, including subsidies of more than €1 million per wind industry job.
Dr Gabriel Calzada, then of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, analysed the economic outcomes of the Spanish government’s policies in his paper “Study of the effects on employment of public aid to renewable energy sources”, and pretty conclusively demonstrates that every subsidised green job destroys two real jobs. A useful English-language primer is by Christopher Norton in his book Power Grab.
[Update: This is the bit where shennanigans have been called]
Now if you are a company working in renewable energy, or a strong supporter of “green jobs” whatever the cost, then you could argue that Dr Calzada is wrong; publish a critique of his work, or publish your own independent research. Or you could send a bomb to his office.
Yup, that last one is what the guys at Solar Energy company Thermotechnic decided to do:
Via Expansión (sort of a Spanish Financial Times) [Translation by Google]
On Wednesday June 16 received a package in the Instituto Juan de Mariana addressed to its president, Gabriel Calzada. Nothing made him think the recipient might be a threat in the form of explosive device removed. But as the shipment was not expected from the think tank decided to contact the sender by telephone. At the other end, Gabriel Calzada said, an employee of the company immediately known which package and said it was without doubt a second that this "is our response to the articles on Mr. Calzada energy expansion."
