Back in December, the Captain alerted you to the point of view of a singular activist on green economy and Climate Crisis issues, named Van Jones. Based in Oakland, CA, Jones has been active and eloquent on the need to involve poor communities in green energy and environmental sustainability efforts. Not only would such efforts inevitably fail if they remain limited to rich whites enviros in certain urban areas, but green energy efforts have a vast potential to bring jobs to poor and blue collar communities, and lift people out of poverty while doing the actual work of accomplishing environmental sustainability.
Well, this week the Obama administration appointed Van Jones as a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation. It's tremendous news. Jones is not only good on policy, he is a dynamic speaker and organizer. The blue (collar)-green (jobs) alliance is in many ways the keystone of what is emerging as the Obama plan for simultaneously reviving the economy now, building a new and sustainable economy for the future, ending dependence on foreign energy, increasing health and saving the planet.
Van Jones is the author of The Green Collar Economy (linked to Amazon over there in the slide show column). This New Yorker profile tells a lot more about him.
5 days ago
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