industry, defense industries, economic conversion, renewable technology, option, environment,
obsolete, design focus, civilian needs, renewable energy production and distribution, government contracts,
tax incentives, reeducation, retraining, employers, employees, industry, obsolete
If there is an opportunity to save money or make
it, capitalism will move us in that direction. When
you have an option that's better economically and
better for the environment, then older technologies
will become obsolete.
Today, there are many corporate leaders who are
launching renewable divisions (Shell, BP, Sharp
and GE), and others becoming large customers of
green power (Toyota, Body Shop, Patagonia).
The economic conversion of defense industries to
civilian needs is a challenging process, but has
been done many times before. If you look at the
skill sets of these firms: high tech, systems integration
and materials fabrication — these are the same
requirements for the engineering of electricity
generation systems (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass,
hydro, and ocean energy) and high voltage transmission
networks.
Research shows that employment in defense industries
normally increases when a firm transitions to a
non-military activity. The very high-tech, high
wage business of defense can actually employ greater
numbers of people in the civilian sector.
Re-education/retraining of employers and employees
is important, so when an old industry becomes obsolete,
they can move swiftly into the new field.
