Van Jones: With Liberty, Justice and Green Jobs For All

When the green job hunt seems like a lost cause, it is good to dig into the well of wisdom of leaders like Van Jones. Read on.

Source: Bright Green Talent Group on LinkedIn


"Van Jones has been a tireless advocate for putting green jobs and green issues at the forefront of our economic and social discussions. What makes this man great is that he is a cultural mediator: his work is translating the theoretical in the practical, making green ideas accessible to those who can put them into action, and providing a working man’s guide to the green revolution.

As he puts it, he’d like to facilitate the discussion between the Ph.Ds and the Ph.Do’s — the farmers, laborers, and builders, to create a populist green movement. He describes the current niche-status of the green economy in a way that displays both his affinity for the working man and his attitude towards the status quo.

VJ: Well, I did have a eureka moment. I’ve been working in urban communities for a long time, working with kids in trouble trying to reform, police departments and juvenile justice systems, and I just burned out and started going from Oakland to Marin County, where there’s a lot of meditation centers, and just discovered a whole new world.,You know, a lot of stuff over there they don’t have in Oakland, like salads and, you know, stuff like that. Tofu and hybrid cars, and I said, “Jeez, all this beautiful green stuff, services, products, new industries that are rising, the solar industry. You know, we should have that, some of that stuff in urban America — people who are disadvantaged, poor people in rural America, Appalachia. How do we get this green economy to be expanded to include more people, get it strong enough so it can lift people out of poverty and create jobs for people?” And it was in that inquiry that I wound up writing this book.

Although using a different rhetoric than Obama (President Obama would probably not talk about urban youths needing more salad as high priority), the message is the same: economic opportunity for more people, not just those who can afford it. Jones points to the fact that the green economy has too long been a niche market populated by affluent Prius-drivers or hemp & dreads-sporting vegan counter-cultural renegades. He seeks to extend the green movement to people beyond those with surplus cultural and economic capital. He is hoping that more people can participate, not only in green buying but green building. He sees green as a moral imperative that must not be devoted not only to products but average joe services and job opportunities."