Van Jones To Help Direct National Green Jobs Program

Published March 09, 2009 @ 08:14PM PT

Today's blog buzz is confirmed: Van Jones is becoming a special advisor to the Obama administration on green jobs, green business, and innovation. The author, activist, and founder of Green for All is "to help direct the administration's efforts to create jobs and help the environment," according to the Associated Press.

It's a role that's already got some momentum: the American Recovery and Re-investment Act (ARRA), better known as the economic stimulus package, contains around $20 billion in clean energy funding and other "green" measures, includes a $500 million line item for green jobs training.

Testifying last month at the first meeting of Vice President Joe Biden's Middle Class Task Force (as seen in the video above) Jones stressed that this wave of opportunities for new family-wage jobs needs to go the low-income people and communities who've been left behind in other economic booms, and have often been hit the hardest by interconnected social, economic, and environmental injustices.

Here's what Jones had to say about green jobs, global warming, and economic justice on The Tavis Smiley Show last March:

If we teach our young people to put up solar panels, they're on their way to becoming electrical engineers, electricians, they can join unions.

Those are green pathways out of poverty. Teach a young person how to weatherize a building so it doesn't leak so much energy. We can bring those greenhouse gases down. That young man is on the way to become a glazier, double-paning glass. These are the jobs of the future. The problem is right now our young people are standing in the back of the line for the last century's pollution-based jobs that are leaving the country anyway.

We could put our young people in the front of the line for the clean and green jobs that are coming. I think that's got to be - it's not just - the environmental movement now is no longer just for the hybrid crowd or the people who care about polar bears, it's about putting the tools and technology and the training in our young peoples' hands to go out there and fix America.

Share this Post

Comments (3)

That is such good news. Van Jones is an excellent choice for that position. I read a couple articles about him last year and loved his intelligence, passion, and hunger for real results. That is exactly what we need. :)

Posted by D W on 03/12/2009 @ 10:36PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by D
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
It's encouraging that the Obama admin. hasn't used the down economy as an excuse to delay green jobs training...

Posted by Emily Gertz on 03/14/2009 @ 01:02PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Emily
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
If we were serious about the environment, and tackling the real threat of global warming, we would vigorously pursue a campaign against private ownership of motor vehicles, based on the same agenda we use against cigarets. Few people have any exposure to cigaret smoke whatsoever, while most of us have daily exposure to the (more carcinogenic) motor vehicle emmisions, yet our legislators and the public don't seem to take this threat very seriously.

Our excessive use of motor vehicles has already had a profoundly damaging impact on the environment, and is the leading cause of the melting of the polar ice cap, endangering the planet. The harm from breathing in the oil particles in motor vehicle emissions results in our greatest health care costs.

We should encourage our legislators to begin imposing significant tax hikes on cars, gas and all motor vehicle products. These taxes should then be used to significantly expand public transportation while continuing to research ways to end our dependence on oil. We should also use social disincentives to convince people to break their addiction to privately owned autos, the same as we do to smokers. Encourage public criticism of anyone who uses a car to transport only one or two people, prohibit motor vehicles within a block of all schools, shopping malls, etc.

There is an urgent need to take immediate measures to curb our private ownership of cars and trucks. This might inconvenience some people, but our survival depends on it.

Posted by DH Fabian on 04/17/2009 @ 10:06PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by DH
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.