An Investment in Long Island Sound Would Create Up to 10,000 Green Jobs

Don Strait, executive director of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, is the co-author of a new op-ed about green jobs in Connecticut. One of the key points is that investing in Long Island Sound can create up to 10,000 new jobs, and very soon:

Our recent experience with Tropical Storm Irene dramatically underscored the need to invest, too, in habitat restoration and clean water infrastructure. With hundreds of miles of the state located on or near water, catastrophic flooding plagued areas of the state that were without adequate coastal wetlands and undeveloped riversides to buffer them from waves and high rivers. Moreover, millions of gallons of raw sewage discharged into our rivers and Long Island Sound because of inadequate and outdated sewage treatment plants. Increased investment in water treatment projects and coastal restoration would not only help protect us in future storms but also create between 8,000 and 10,000 new jobs—and that’s this year and next, not ten years from now. Lower-cost alternatives to clean water infrastructure, like green-infrastructure and low-impact development stormwater management strategies, would create new jobs here in Connecticut, too.

Read the whole thing here, on the Ctnewsjunkie.com site.