The Biden-Harris Administration announces a new environmentally focused career program

By Jaron Von Runnen

News Reporter

On Sept. 25, during Climate Week NYC, the Biden-Harris Administration revealed a new partnership to address the climate crisis while creating new jobs in clean energy and environmental justice.

AmeriCorps, a national service program that engages citizens in community service across various fields, partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a federal agency responsible for protecting the environment and human health, to create the Environmental Justice Climate Corps (EJCC).

This new program is part of the American Climate Corps, a workforce training and service initiative designed to ensure that more young people have access to the skills-based training necessary for good-paying jobs in the clean energy and climate stability economy.

The EJCC’s goal is to engage young Americans in helping communities nationwide with the development and implementation of pollution reduction and climate stability initiatives.

At the same time, they acquire skills and experience for well-paying careers in clean energy and climate fields. They also aim to recruit from communities impacted by environmental justice challenges and citizens who are passionate about these issues.

The partnership will specifically support more than 250 AmeriCorps VISTA members nationwide over three years, with each new participating member completing a one-year term of service.

EJCC members will target residents of low-income communities, as they are more vulnerable to air pollution due to a lack of funding and trees planted, along with proximity to factories, major highways or ports, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Political Director of the College Democrats of Texas State University, Jake Wildenstein, said the new partnership is a great opportunity for the younger generation to make a change, even though the Biden Administration has kept their policies under wraps.

“The Biden administration is really good at very quietly doing something really cool and almost to a fault, and I think this is like absolutely one of those policies,” Wildenstein said. “250 people getting an opportunity like that across the country is a real change that is going to happen. It’s genuine good policy and I’m happy to see it.”

On the other hand, the President of the College Republicans of Texas State University, Carly French, said the new partnership is sound, but it is hard to give a full opinion since it is not fully implemented yet.

“I am hesitant to give a full ‘stamp of approval’ so to speak,” French said. “I believe the foundation for the initiative is amazing, especially with the hurricanes and changes in weather we’ve had recently. This would be a huge initiative to help rebuild those communities as well, I feel like.”

Wildenstein said a policy like the EJCC will have a long-lasting impact, opening up many opportunities for citizens passionate about the environment and the justice system.

“There are so many people who are genuinely intelligent and genuinely good at this stuff, but they just don’t have the opportunity to do it. I do think it will have the one lasting effect,” Wildenstein said. “At the very least, the smallest impact is there’s 250 people who will get the chance to have a lifelong career for it, not only climate justice, but also like social justice.”

French said that while the initiative has potential, its influence might grow if it expands into research programs.

“I think the initiative will influence future policy discussions through bringing more awareness to environmental protections at the state and national levels,” French said. “I feel as though the EJCC could play a part in future policies if they begin doing research programs, but I cannot say for sure.”

French also said she can see young Republicans getting involved in environmental efforts, especially at Texas State University.

“We chose this campus not only because of the education, but because of the beautiful environment around us,” French said. “I think a lot of the younger Conservatives or Republicans already consider themselves conservationists since a lot of us like to hunt and fish, which includes protecting our environment, so I would think it’s a smart assumption. I don’t see it differing too much from the EJCC other than we aren’t paid for our efforts.”

Wildenstein says he sees the Biden administration as a nod to the Democratic party’s past, appreciating its break from tradition in certain areas.

“This is really a throwback to an older Democratic Party, you know, and, let’s keep that momentum going,” Wildenstein said. “The Biden administration is weird in what they’ve broken with tradition. I’d like to see more breaking with tradition.”

For more information about the new partnership, EJCC, between the EPA and AmeriCorps, click here.