Why Not Youngstown? Flint, Michigan's Plan For Green Jobs

[Dan Moadus]

Apollo Alliance huh? Is that the new "ACORN" or did the Apollo Alliance come first. Doesn't matter both organizations are Socialist front groups. They must smell good old Capitalist dollars somewhere. Probably shakin down Flint, General Motors and a few others.  Green jobs.....What a hoot!

[irishbobcat]

Last Friday, April 15, 2011, The Apollo Alliance and others convened the first of a series of Task Force meetings for an exciting new endeavor: The Flint Clean Economy Project: Roadmap to the Future. The City of Flint, Apollo Alliance, and Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) have joined forces to demonstrate how a clean economic development plan can create good jobs, fight poverty, and revitalize manufacturing in Flint, Michigan. 

The national poverty rate is at a 15-year high, but perhaps nowhere in the country is there a greater need for economic revival than in Flint, where 36% of the population is living below the poverty threshold, including 55% of the city's families with children below the age of five. Given the magnitude of America's economic and environmental challenges, it is more important than ever to link environmental progress to greater economic opportunity.

Because municipal areas are crucial economic drivers, Apollo aims to apply the progress made in Flint to other urban areas across the United States. What could be more compelling than a program that delivers both broadly-shared prosperity and progress on the moral imperative of ending poverty and ensuring a healthy environment for those living in inner city communities?

Working closely with the Mayor's Office, the Task Force and community leaders, Apollo Alliance and ICIC will undertake research and policy analysis in order to develop a well informed clean, green economic development strategy which will then be integrated into the City's long- term master planning process. 

"The City of Flint has been hit hard economically, but that does not mean we have run out of hope for recovery," said Flint Mayor Dayne Walling. "Flint possesses a skilled workforce, strong educational institutions, available land, and a history as a global leader in technology. We are incredibly optimistic about the potential for this project - and we're honored to be the pilot city that will provide insights for inner city green job growth here and across America for years to come."

John Bradburn, Senior Environmental Project Manager at General Motors and Task Force member said, "I'm looking forward to participating in the process of ensuring environmentally sound measures are incorporated into job growth initiatives in Flint." Bradburn has spearheaded Flint area green initiatives and brings a global "best practices" perspective to greening GM plants around the world.

The Flint Clean Economy Project Task Force will be central to the project's success and includes representatives from the labor, business, educational, non-profit and public sectors:

Neil Sheridan, Kettering University - TechWorks
Steve Montle, City of Flint
Jason Caya, Flint Area Reinvestment Office
Tom Guise, Swedish Biogas International
Bernie Scibienski, Landaal Packaging
John Bradburn, General Motors
Laurie Moncrieff, Schmald Tool
Representative Jim Ananich, Michigan House of Representatives
Amy Butler, Director, Bureau of Energy Systems, DELEG
Deb Loader, Grants Development Specialist, GRCC
Norwood Jewel, UAW Region 1C Director
Bill Webb, University of Michigan – Flint

"Job creation has been a significant challenge in low-income urban areas over the past decade," said Teresa Lynch, Vice President and Director of Policy at ICIC. "Developing city growth strategies to tap demand for green products and services can provide an opportunity to create stable jobs with middle-income wages for under- and unemployed workers."

The first Task Force meeting was very sucessful, giving us hope and excitement for the rest of our work to create good, green jobs in Flint.