According to a report released by the American Wind Energy Association, the wind industry now provides more jobs than the coal mining industry. The reports says that 85,000 people are now employed by the wind industry, thanks to a robust year of growth in 2008. The coal industry employs 81,000 - and this number has remained steady the last several years - but is down 50% from 1986.

These findings may come as a surprise to many. Popular perception is that the coal industry is enormous and provides numerous jobs. However, mechanization and new technologies have greatly reduced the need for human labor over the past decades, even as more coal is mined than ever. While total wind power generating capacity is significantly smaller than coal, the wind industry is more labor intensive, and therefore creates more jobs.

This report gives a good example of how the green economy can generate employment. There doesn’t have to be a choice between the environment and jobs. And companies that MMA works with can begin to see social benefits (and good PR) possibilities for financing green energy.