It sounds like an exciting prospect: a new class of worker that will carry our economy forward to a low-emissions, energy-independent future, and hopefully, a new era of prosperity. The hope is that good, hard working folks that got left behind as corporations discovered globalization will be gainfully employed installing windfarms and the like.

But in coining this term, feathers are getting ruffled.

It turns out that the divisions between blue and green collar workers may not be all that clear cut. Indeed, politicians are being accused of a sort of "greenwashing" (try to contain your shock).

This New York Times article explains:

But some skeptics argue that the phrase “green jobs” is little more than a trendy term for politicians and others to bandy about. Some say they are not sure that these jobs will have the staying power to help solve the problems of the nation’s job market, and others note that green jobs often pay less than the old manufacturing jobs they are replacing.

Indeed, such is the novelty of the green-job concept that no one is certain how many such jobs there are, and even advocates don’t always agree on what makes a job green.

“A green-collar job is in essence a blue-collar job that has been upgraded to address the environmental challenges of our country,” said Lucy Blake, chief executive of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups, labor unions and politicians seeking to transform the economy into one based on renewable energy.

However, the article notes that some are seeing a clear difference, pointing to the skill and expertise required to manufacture, install and maintain alternative energy producing products like solar.