Environmental Consulting Responsible for 45% of California's Green Employment

Good news on the jobs front! Green jobs that is. From the west coast, there is news that green jobs grew at a much faster tick in California, while in D.C., President Obama announced a fast-tracked approval process for patents in clean tech. As countries continue to duel it out at Copenhagen, here, in a quick roundup, are today's domestic offerings to keep you up to date:

- California, known to be one of the hardest hit in this recession, is reporting that green jobs have grown by 5 percent while total jobs declined by 1 percent between January 2007 and January 2008. A report by Collaborative Economics for Next 10, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit, studied the state's "core green economy" and determined that the number of green companies grew 45 percent between 1995 and 2008, simultaneously increasing jobs in renewables, energy efficiency and clean tech by as much as 36 percent.

Even more interesting, however, is that while a majority of these jobs existed before the recession as well, new positions such as energy auditors, solar panel installers and energy efficiency experts were created as well. And it’s not all blue collar either. According to the report, service-based green jobs, such as environmental consulting, make up 45 percent of green employment, while manufacturing, focused in energy efficiency and energy generation, accounts for another 21 percent.

- President Obama announced plans to fast track green technology patents applications and shave off as much as a year to speed job creation in clean tech. This will help companies begin operation on new technologies and therefore, start hiring much quicker than is traditional.

- And finally, Tom Friedman, over at the Times editorialized today about thinking of climate change as a one-percent risk. With reports flooding in all day yesterday from Copenhagen where scientists announced that we just might have lived through the warmest decade, Friedman says even if climate change doesn't pose a risk, America will come out more innovative, more energy independent and with a much more robust economy: "When I see a problem that has even a 1 percent probability of occurring and is "irreversible" and potentially "catastrophic," I buy insurance. That is what taking climate change seriously is all about."