The American Climate Corps is a national service of the US government focused on climate change prevention. It was launched in September 2023 by the Biden administration, and is a government interagency project between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Departments of Labor, Interior, Agriculture, and Energy and AmeriCorps. The service plans to recruit 20,000 young people, and train them for public service or the private sector. [1] [2] [3] [4]
The Climate Corps has a 5-year, $15 million partnership through the US Forest Service for establishing a Forest Corps with a highest priority of confronting the wildfire crisis. [3] The Forest Corps plans to employ 80 people aged 18-26 beginning in the summer of 2024. These positions requiring no prior education or experience will pay a compensation package of lodging, transportation, clothing, a living allowance, and health benefits equivalent to $15 per hour. [5]
The Public Land Corps was authorized by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act of 2019 created the Indian Youth Service Corps within the Public Land Corps. The Indian Youth Service Corps recruits tribal nations individuals aged 16-30 for educational, non-Federal employment and training opportunities in conservation projects on federal and tribal lands. [5] [6]
The United States Department of Energy will allocate $10 million in grants to support classroom instruction and on-the-job training for individuals seeking industry-related certifications in energy efficient building technologies. Grant applicants must submit a community benefits plan by 27 November 2023. The plan must explain how the proposal will contribute to local community and labor support, workforce development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and initiatives for economic and environmental justice. [7]
Building from the existence and success of other climate corps programs such as SEI's Climate Corps [8] and California Climate Action Corp, the American Climate Corps is expected to begin functioning in April 2024 with several hundred members. The tasks are not defined precisely, but will probably be "things like installing solar panels, restoring vulnerable habitats, and fire hazard prevention."
The needed skills will strongly differ between the different tasks: some tasks will need only "skills like communications, conflict resolution, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, reliability,” while others will require also higher education.
According to the plan of Biden, in the first year the number of participants is supposed to rise to 20,000 and then 50,000 more should be added each year by 2031. However, this plan is strongly opposed by Republicans. [9]
On the Earth Day 2024, in Prince William Forest Park created by the Civilian Conservation Corps, Biden officially launched the corps' website, in which people can apply for the available jobs. 2,000 jobs already were available when the declaration was made. More than 42,000 people expressed interest in participating. [10]
The first class of members was sworn in, in mid June 2024. By the end of this month, the number of members in place is expected to reach 9,000. [11]
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal that supplied manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state, and local governments. The CCC was designed to supply jobs for young men and to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States. There was eventually a smaller counterpart program for unemployed women called the She-She-She Camps, which were championed by Eleanor Roosevelt.
The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides grants and technical assistance to economically distressed communities in order to generate new employment, help retain existing jobs and stimulate industrial and commercial growth through a variety of investment programs. EDA works with boards and communities across the country on economic development strategies.
Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young people ages 16 to 24.
The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is a human services organization committed to the development of the Arab American community. ACCESS helps low-income families, as well as newly arrived immigrants adapt to life in the United States. Its goal is to foster a greater understanding of Arab culture in the U.S. and in the Arab world. ACCESS provides social, mental health, educational, artistic, employment, legal, and medical services.
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 was a United States federal law that was repealed and replaced by the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. Its mission is to provide training, employment, labor market information, and income maintenance services. ETA administers federal government job training and worker dislocation programs, federal grants to states for public employment service programs, and unemployment insurance benefits. These services are primarily provided through state and local workforce development systems.
The National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), or AmeriCorps NCCC, is an AmeriCorps program founded in 1993 that engages 18- to 26-year-olds in team-based, residential community service projects across the United States. Each year, approximately 2,200 individuals representative of all colors, creeds, states, and economic statuses are chosen to serve in one of four regions covering all 50 states and five territories.
City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City Year teams are made up of 18 to 24 year olds, who provide student, classroom, and whole school support, intended to help students stay in school and on track to graduate high school. City Year is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network, and is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals.
AmeriCorps is an independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in service through a variety of stipended volunteer work programs in many sectors. These programs include AmeriCorps VISTA, AmeriCorps NCCC, AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, the Volunteer Generation Fund, and other national service initiatives. The agency's mission is "to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering." It was created by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. In September 2020, the agency rebranded itself as AmeriCorps, although its official name is unchanged.
The Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) is a young adult voluntary development program modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s, using conservation projects to foster citizenship and personal growth in its members. The MCC operates crews in four towns throughout Montana: Missoula, Kalispell, Helena, and Bozeman. In addition MCC's central office is located in Bozeman.
A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in an environmental sector of the economy. Environmental green-collar workers satisfy the demand for green development. Generally, they implement environmentally conscious design, policy, and technology to improve conservation and sustainability. Formal environmental regulations as well as informal social expectations are pushing many firms to seek professionals with expertise with environmental, energy efficiency, and clean renewable energy issues. They often seek to make their output more sustainable, and thus more favorable to public opinion, governmental regulation, and the Earth's ecology.
CaliforniaVolunteers is the state agency charged with increasing the number and impact of Californians engaged in service and volunteering.
Green jobs are, according to the United Nations Environment Program, "work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development (R&D), administrative, and service activities that contribute(s) substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality. Specifically, but not exclusively, this includes jobs that help to protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and water consumption through high efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy; and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and pollution." The environmental sector has the dual benefit of mitigating environmental challenges as well as helping economic growth.
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act or Serve America Act was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on March 9, 2009, by Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York. Originally titled the Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act, the bill reauthorizes and expands the AmeriCorps program that was first established in 1993. It passed in the House of Representatives on March 18, 2009. The U.S. Senate debated and approved an amended version of the bill on March 26, 2009, renaming it the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, after Senator Ted Kennedy. The House of Representatives voted on the bill a second time, approving the amended version on March 31, 2009. It was signed by President Barack Obama on April 21, 2009.
The Public Land Corps (PLC) is a work and education program for young people and veterans that is run by the United States land management agencies in association with state conservation and service corps. The objective is the rehabilitation and restoration of public land resources and infrastructure. The Public Land Corps was authorized by the National and Community Service Trust Act on May 27, 1993, H.R. 2328. The 21st Century Conservation Service Corps Act in 2019 allowed Public Land Corps to partner with more federal agencies on conservation and restoration projects and created the Indian Youth Service Corps within the Public Land Corps.
The environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration includes a series of laws, regulations, and programs introduced by United States President Joe Biden since he took office in January 2021. Many of the actions taken by the Biden administration reversed the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Biden's climate change policy focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, similar to the efforts taken by the Obama administration. Biden promised to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030. The main climate target of the Biden administration is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States to net zero by 2050. A climate team was created to lead the effort.
The Build Back Better Plan or Build Back Better agenda was a legislative framework proposed by U.S. president Joe Biden between 2020 and 2021. Generally viewed as ambitious in size and scope, it sought the largest nationwide public investment in social, infrastructural, and environmental programs since the 1930s Great Depression-era policies of the New Deal.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021. It was introduced in the House as the INVEST in America Act and nicknamed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a United States federal law which aims to reduce the federal government budget deficit, lower prescription drug prices, and invest in domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 16, 2022.
The CHIPS and Science Act is a U.S. federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 9, 2022. The act authorizes roughly $280 billion in new funding to boost domestic research and manufacturing of semiconductors in the United States, for which it appropriates $52.7 billion. The act includes $39 billion in subsidies for chip manufacturing on U.S. soil along with 25% investment tax credits for costs of manufacturing equipment, and $13 billion for semiconductor research and workforce training, with the dual aim of strengthening American supply chain resilience and countering China. It also invests $174 billion in the overall ecosystem of public sector research in science and technology, advancing human spaceflight, quantum computing, materials science, biotechnology, experimental physics, research security, social and ethical considerations, workforce development and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at NASA, NSF, DOE, EDA, and NIST.
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