Building a green economy with stimulus funds
Creating green jobs and building a green economy that will all be sustainable years down the road is a major aspect of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA).  The act aims to accomplish this feat throughout a range of programs, from workforce training for green jobs to grants for energy efficiency strategies to support for renewable energy firms.  Approximately $80 billion of ARRA funds deal with energy and the environment, according to “Recovery Through Retrofit.”  With significant funding for weatherization, energy efficiency and conservation projects, green job training, and the State’s energy plan, there is an important opportunity to jumpstart a greener future.  Now is a better time than ever to learn more about the green stimulus with new greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting requirements, a wealth of valuable online resources, and a series of local and national reports describing the importance on the green stimulus.  CMAP created a resource guide on stimulus funds designated towards building a green economy and creating green jobs, which includes a graph and chart to show how much money is available nationally through the stimulus related to building a green economy, as well as how the stimulus money for such programs gets to the region.