It’s official: green policies are good for the economy. The New York Times reports today that energy-efficient policies created 1.5 million jobs over 30 years in California, while eliminating only 25,000.

The money that green policies save people from spending on energy can be diverted elsewhere, the theory goes, which can then, “create jobs among retailers, wholesalers, food processors and other businesses.” From the article:

The study, conducted by David Roland-Holst, an economist at the Center for Energy, Resources and Economic Sustainability at the University of California, Berkeley, found that while the state’s policies lowered employee compensation in the electric power industry by an estimated $1.6 billion over that period, it improved compensation in the state over all by $44.6 billion.

That’s a whole lot of extra money running around the state. Imagine what nationwide green policies could do - hypothetically, they could help restart this flagging economy of ours. Cause, if you hadn’t noticed, there have been some problems.

To learn more about green jobs, takepart and visit the Ella Baker Center’s website, one of the best organizations in the country when it comes to this field. You can learn more about Van Jones, who cofounded the Center, here. Because he is absolutely awesome.