Our Green HeroPresident Obama has chosen the ideal person to fight both poverty and pollution at the same time–Van Jones. Van Jones is presently the special advisor on Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Other credentials under his belt are: Time Magazine’s 2008 Environmental Hero; Global Green USA “Community Environmental Leadership Award 2008,” and the New York Times Bestselling author of, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Solve Our Two Biggest Problems (Harper One 2008), which is endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle and Al Gore. Not bad. Jones is helping to shift our country towards a greener economy by making blue-collar green jobs more readily available. Actor and environmentalist, Leonardo DiCaprio, interviewed Van Jones for the 2009 Time Magazine’s Heros & Icons. Jones says, “You can think about a green-collar job as a blue-collar job that’s been upgraded, or up-skilled, to better respect the environment. (Also) these jobs not only contribute directly to preserving and enhancing environmental quality but also provide either family-supporting wages or a career ladder to move low-income workers into higher-skilled occupations.” He is well known for his optimistic view of solving both our economic and environmental problems simultaneously. It’s reassuring to have Jones on Obama’s team. He is undeniably committed to making a sustainable economy part of our long term economic growth agenda. For recent articles about our tireless, green, social advocate, visit these links below: NPR’s website has a few articles about Jones that are worthy of reading: Green For All is an organization founded by Van Jones Listen to Van Jones’s opening statement at the SC Stimulus Hearing Start making your Earth Promises today! Tags: Al Gore, carbon footprint, change, changes, climate change, compost, compost bin, composting, conservation, earth, earth promise, earthpromise, eco-friendly, economy, education, energy, energy efficient, environment, environmental, environmental issues, global warming, government, green, green changes, green future, green living, green practice, green practices, green revolution, green tips, green-collar jobs, greener economy, Leonardo DiCaprio, mother earth, Nancy Pelosi, organic, poverty, recycling, reusing, save money, sustainable economy, Tom Daschle, Van Jones, waste, White House Council on Environmental Quality |
