A coalition of labor and environmental groups has a plan for boosting America’s sluggish economy: persuade Uncle Sam to invest $100 billion in green building and technology.

Such an infusion would create 2 million jobs nationwide in two years, the groups say, four times more than would be created if that money was invested in oil.

The conclusions are part of a report released this week by the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington D.C.-based think tank.  It was prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and supported by such organizations as the Sierra Club, United Steel Workers and the National Resources Defense Council.

The groups back several green strategies, including retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency, expanding mass transit and freight rail, and increasing the production of wind and solar power.

The report says that clean energy will "put more people to work, provide consumers relief at the pump . . . and revitalize our economy," NRDC President Frances Beinecke said in a news release.

But although conservationists say the report shows why the next president should make green energy a priority, offshore drilling remains the hot topic on Capitol Hill.

Technorati Tags: green projects, us economy, offshore drilling, center for american progress, sierra club, green strategies

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