Van Jones

I got to see Van Jones and representatives from some of the partners of his Green For All campaign speak at the Power Shift 2007 conference. He was very inspiring and I find his ideas quite interesting and with a lot of potential.

Van Jones still discusses environmental benefits while placing the focus of his initiatives on jobs and the economy. I think that this tactic will be more successful in reaching more people to support environmental objectives, especially in this time of an economic downturn. Environmentalists sometimes seem to forget that people struggling to survive and make ends meet will likely not place any priority on the environment. By increasing green jobs and providing green job training, both environmental problems and the problems of unemployment can be addressed.

While I am supportive of Van Jones' ideas for expanding green-collar jobs and increasing training options to gain the skills necessary for them, I fear that he will be unsuccessful in receiving the funds that he is aiming for. His ideas have the potential to appeal to business, government, and the average citizen, if all can be convinced that it will ultimately be economically beneficial.