Jobs and Environment Go Hand-in-Hand Says Report
EarthVision Environmental News
November 28, 2000
DURHAM, NC, November 28, 2000 - States with the best environmental records also offer the best job opportunities and climate for long-term economic development according to a new report from the Institute for Southern Studies, a non-profit research center in Durham, North Carolina.
Chris Kromm, co-author of the report Gold and Green 2000 and the Director of the Institute, says the popular notion that a healthy economy and a clean environment is an "either/or" proposition, is unmasked as false.
"What this study finds is that the trade-off myth is untrue," says Kromm. "At the state policy level, efforts to promote a healthy environment and a sound economy go hand-in-hand."
The study uses two separate lists of indicators to evaluate each state's economic performance and the stresses on the natural environment. The 20 economic indicators include annual pay, job opportunities, business start-ups and workplace injury rates, while the 20 environmental measures range from toxic emissions and pesticide use, to energy consumption and urban sprawl. The report ranks states on each indicator and the sum of ranks produces a state's final score. Comparing the two lists reveals that seven states rank in the top 15 for both economic and environmental health, while 10 states are among the worst 15 on both lists.
The Institute notes that its report joins a growing chorus of experts who argue that, while businesses may invoke the "jobs versus the environment" trade-off to resist regulation, the myth is unfounded.
For final Gold and Green rankings, state-by-state profiles, and annotated sources, see http://www.southernstudies.org.