Van Jones
Fighting Poverty and Pollution
In the spirit of global discussion, Blog Action Day urges bloggers everywhere to concentrate on one subject. Last year it was the environment. This year it's poverty. But who says the environment and poverty have to be addressed as separate subjects?
Van Jones agrees. He's a social entrepreneur, author of the new book Green Collar Economy and founder of Green for All.
Jones says the world faces two major crises: ecological destruction and the widening gap between rich and poor. The issues may appear different, but there is a single solution: build "an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty."
To Jones that means "green[ing] the bailout" by allocating $350 billion for investment in green technologies and industries: solar panels, wind turbines, weatherized buildings, wind farms and a new cadre of green-collared workers.
That's a lot of work. And there are millions of people that don't have work. I believe that the moral challenge of the next century is to connect the people who most need work to the work that most needs to be done.... We need green pathways out of poverty and into prosperity.
Jones is right. It's time we stopped thinking about these issues separately. It's time to think outside the box. It's time to green and grow the economy. Or, as Jones says in this video, it's time for a "Green New Deal."
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