Coachella Valley officials call for green jobs
By
K KAUFMANN
THE DESERT SUN
September 27, 2008
Kirk, Watson speak at Greenpeace rally
Greenpeace organizer Eva Erbskorn knew her audience.When Erbskorn asked the 150 people attending a Green Jobs Now rally Saturday in Indio to send a text message to sign a petition supporting an end to global warming, the 100 or so teens in attendance whipped out their cell phones.
"I believe in global warming, and we have to prevent it from happening," said Marissa Escobedo, 18, of Indio, who joined the group "text-in."
"I’ve already called Mary Bono (Mack), and I’ll do it again,” Escobedo said.
The rally was one of about 600 held Saturday in cities across the country aimed at sparking local and national action to end global warming and promote green jobs — a call that took on added urgency as a result of the country’s precarious economy.
“We can simultaneously cut our dependence on foreign oil and create high-paying jobs,” Erbskorn said. “The American economy definitely needs a tune-up.”
Speakers including Indio Mayor Lupe Ramos Watson and La Quinta Councilman Tom Kirk both talked about how city governments in the Coachella Valley are taking a leading role in promoting green technology and encouraged the teens to get involved.
“Every time you hear about a new school, ask the school board, ‘Should there be solar panels?’” Kirk said. “Every time we do that (promote renewable energy) with taxpayers’ money, we’re creating local jobs for local people.”
“Especially for the youth, green is the wave of the future,” Watson said. “We have to make sure the education is there for them, the jobs are there for them.”
