Spotlight on: Van Jones
I’ve been meaning to write about this guy since I saw him speak at a business conference back in March. I just finished reading his book The Green Collar Economy.
Van Jones is the voice of the green collar economy, promoting green jobs as the cure for our economic, socioeconomic and environmental problems. What’s a green-collar job? Jones describes it as “a family supporting career-track job that directly contributes to preserving or enhancing environmental quality.” He says “think of them as the 2.0 version of old-fashioned blue collar jobs, upgraded to respect the Earth and meet the environmental challenges of today.” Here are his views..
Green-collar jobs could cure our economic problems: In 2006, renewable energy created 8.5 million jobs, $970 billion in revenue and over $100 billion in industry profits. Instead of giving away over half a trillion dollars for oil, we can reinvest in our own economy, replacing the millions of jobs that have been lost in manufacturing and construction.
Green-collar jobs could cure our socioeconomic problems: Did you know that the richest 1% of people have more wealth than the bottom 90% of people in the US. The bottom 90%! Jones argues green-collar jobs will be equal opportunity, provide pathways out of poverty, and rebuild a strong middle class while strengthening urban and rural communities.
Green-collar jobs could cure our environmental problems: Jones argues we have lost our accountability. Apparently, the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy states “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” I like that. We, instead, have abandoned this notion and instead have built our country with the easiest, quickest means and methods only to now realize such actions are rather unsustainable. By employing blue-collar employees, we can retroactively weatherize buildings, we can install solar panels, build wind turbines, etc.
Anyway, I guess there’s another book report for you. Van Jones is the head of Green For All, was one of Time Magazine’s 2009 Time 100 Heroes & Icons, and is now an advisor on green jobs to the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
