Stephan: Here is further evidence that we are at the tipping point in which oil, gas, and coal with increasing rapidity declines, and non-carbon energy employment increases. The trend is going faster than anyone predicted.
Solar is the energy employer of the future — or at least that’s how the numbers look today.
A new report on the state of the solar industry out Tuesday from the nonprofit Solar Foundation shows that the number of jobs in the United States in the solar industry outpaced those in the oil and gas industries for the first time ever.
As of November 2015 there were almost 209,000 people who worked in the solar industry, 90 percent of whom only work on solar-related projects, according to the report.
There were only about 185,000 people working in oil and gas in the United States in December 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The oil industry has had a rough 18 months, as the price of oil slid from more than $100 a barrel in the spring of 2014 to just over $30 a barrel in recent weeks. The low price has caused layoffs in what had been a robust and growing shale oil extraction business.
The solar industry, meanwhile, continues to grow as the technology […]
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Wednesday, January 13th, 2016
Deborah Yetter, - Louisville Courier-Journal
Stephan: The scholar and researcher in me loves stories like this one and the one that follows. It is the states as laboratories played out in reality. As a citizen however, I can only feel sorry for Kentuckians, although they voted Bevin into office.
Governor Bevin, of course, is relying on the competency of the Obama Administration to affect a seamless transition. It is an utterly cynical act, the proof of which is, as this piece points out, it will cost the state something north of $23 million at a time when Kentucky's budget is very lean.
Also important: the insurance transition aspect is only a part of the state system which was set up by the previous Democratic governor. No arrangements have been announced yet about continuing the entire social safety net which grew up as Kynect evolved. It will be interesting to watch how Kentuckians respond to what is almost certainly going to be a loss of wellness in their lives.
Kentucky Republican Governor Matt Bevin
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY — Following through on a campaign pledge, Gov. Matt Bevin has notified federal authorities he plans to dismantle kynect, Kentucky’s health insurance exchange created under the Affordable Care Act.
The decision drew immediate fire from health care advocates, including Bill Wagner, executive director of the Family Health Centers, a network of public health clinics in Louisville.
“It’s a great disappointment,” Wagner said. “It’s an unwelcome setback in our efforts to reach the number of uninsured people and improve access to health care in Kentucky.”
In a Dec. 30 letter to Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bevin said he plans to wind down the state health exchange and transition Kentuckians to the federal site, healthcare.gov, to shop for insurance under the law also known as Obamacare.
Meanwhile, kynect remains open and the changes will not affect anyone shopping for insurance for the current enrollment period, which ends Jan. […]
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