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The Green Team
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The Public Policy Center has helped start Green Futures, an effort to revitalize a rural Mississippi town through the use of education and alternative energy sources. The Center has joined with three Jackson State University professors to form the "Green Team". Based on the model of Sweetwater, TX wind farms, the Green Team is investigating the feasibility of utilizing alternative energy sources in the Mississippi Delta to promote and sustain community and economic development in the historic town of Mound Bayou. Like many towns in the Mississippi Delta, Mound Bayou has been ravaged by the effects of poverty, isolation, and lack of economic development. The Green Team is working toward a partnership with John F. Kennedy High School in Mound Bayou to introduce alternative energy information into required science courses. This will culminate in public support to save costs by placing solar panels on the high school itself. This will demonstrate the cost effectiveness of using solar panels on businesses, homes, and public building. The resulting demand will help the Green Team and its partners in Mound Bayou to attract industry that specializes in the manufacturing, sale, and installation of solar equipment to the area . In preparation for this, the project will include workforce development to train local residents to obtain and maintain employment in the solar industry. This project will have three major benefits. It will provide energy to the residents of Mound Bayou at a reduced cost. Secondly, it will provide employment to an area in which many people are out of work. Lastly, it will provide a revenue stream for the town of Mound Bayou, which will be able to improve city services, education, and an improved quality of life for those who live there. President Obama speaks of the importance of green jobs in meeting the economic challenges that lie ahead of the United States. The Green Futures project will help lead the way in showing how green jobs can be brought to Mississippi. |
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PUBLIC POLICY CENTER OF MISSISSIPPI |
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736 N. CONGRESS ST. JACKSON, MS 39296 |
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