Van Jones and Environmental Entrepreneurship
I enjoyed reading the New York Times article about the Entrepreneurial League System (which says that “a separate website for the ELS in Central Louisiana will be launched in May 2007″) and this from a comment on the post about the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement,
We need a have a serious conversation about energy conservation here in Alexandria. Some people don’t like the idea of conserving or changing their lifestyle habits, and for whatever reason, many people continue to buy the junk science perpetuated by the paid operatives of the oil and gas industry.
Then I came across Michele Godard’s recent questions about the stock market on Cenlamedia:
…how does the “little” guy get ahead and learn from what others do? Do you gather what little cash you have and gamble on the stock market using information from big guys like Buffet?
Or let’s take this a step further and relate the idea to the City of Alexandria City utility rates, can we the “little” guy find out what small municipalities like ours are doing and find a better deal?
The separate threads on entrepreneurship, climate change, and intelligent investments for a city like Alexandria came together in my mind to remind me of a figure named Van Jones. I highly suggest you read this interview with Van Jones on Grist.org.
As insightful as he is visionary, Van Jones has developed a strategy for improving the environment while providing poor urban areas with much needed economic activity. We know that the demand for conservation and innovation will continue to grow as energy costs rise in America. To Jones, “there are too many white environmentalists who continue to believe they can fix this problem by themselves.” He suggests creating so-called “green collar” jobs for the economically disadvantaged. The advantages of such a strategy are compelling:
A lot of downward pressure on workers comes from increasingly intense competition with India and China. The good thing about renewable energy is that it’s not going to be Chinese workers putting up solar panels. It’s not going to be workers in India retrofitting buildings so they don’t leak as much energy. Wind that’s blowing in the United States is going to turn those wind turbines, not wind blowing in Asia. There is an opportunity here to do work that can’t be outsourced.
Creative leaders have been developing programs to address the interrelated problems we face in America today, problems that are or will be issues important to Central Louisiana.
The Entrepreneurial League System reminded me of something called the Social Venture Network, which is also based on innovation and good business techniques but focuses on socially and environmentally responsible entrepreneurship. According to Van Jones, “Social Venture Network is home-base for today’s visionary entrepreneurs and activist business leaders.”
Van Jones founded and runs the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, California. While the Social Venture Network recruits business innovators, Ella Baker has a program to recruit and train people from low-income backgrounds to gain the skills necessary to work in an environmentally responsible business. This program is called Reclaim the Future and includes the Oakland Green Jobs Corps. A similar program in the South Bronx is called the Green Workers Cooperatives.
To read more about the ideas of Van Jones (who has also written extensively about New Orleans), please read stories by Van Jones on Alternet.org, Yes! Magazine, and his blog on the Huffington Post.
Daniel, I checked out the interview with Van Jones, and I think he has the right idea; the “green collar” worker, as he calls it, will likely become a major force. There’s no doubt.
Regarding Warren Buffett– He has a fascinating, simplistic, and intuitive methodology for selecting his investments: He only invests in the businesses he understands. He doesn’t look at daily market trends, and he doesn’t get immediately discouraged when a stock loses money on any given day.
It’s funny to me that some people dismiss the environmental movement as yet another ploy to make money. Without going into too much detail, I recommend reading James Howard Kunstler’s “The Geography of Nowhere,” which makes the argument that the American economy is primarily based on building infrastructure, both technological and physical.
We have the opportunity to create an incredibly profitable, labor-intensive (which, as Van Jones says, means “jobs”), and much-needed industry, a green industry, an industry that will parlay the billions of dollars of research and development into tangible, proactive solutions. Regardless of what one’s feelings are about global warming, we are indisputably addicted to non-renewable resources, and this addiction has led to dramatic social and political consequences, forming the foundation of our geopolitical strategy.
America is known our innovative and inventive spirit. I agree with the blogger who stated that it’s hard to get people to change their lifestyle habits, but at some point, we must change. Oil is a precious commodity, and as evidenced by our utility bills, so is natural gas. We must be willing to stomach the reality that until we invest in long-term, sustainable solutions, the only thing we can do, in the short-term, is continually put band-aids on bullet wounds.
Really glad to see all the new life breathed into CenLamar. Your recent posts have been all on the mark. Congratulations.
I don’t like the new template. Too dark.
I do like this post. This is the exact thinking that we need, regarding a revolution of industry and entreprenuership with “green collar workers.” Dick Gephart gave a Senate speech in fall 2000 about the thousands of jobs that would be created by developing new segments of the energy industry. Obviously, the numbers of jobs and new economic sectors are vast.
Since I moved to Nepal last summer, the US Dollar has fallen to 65 Nepali rupees to the Dollar from 73. Thats a big dip for one year, although it fluctuates a lot. You may be thinking that the Nepali rupee is insignificant, who cares, but actually the Nepali rupee value is tied to the Indian rupee and the Chinese Yuan. Its a function of the US economy being outstripped by the asian giants, who cant cool their economies down even though they are trying.
Whatever happened to “Yankee Ingenuity?” By Yankee I mean American not northern, by the way. Our country used to take pride in the new shit we could come up with. Now it seems like we are just proud about the new shit we can either buy or blow up.
Anyway, its also great and all that the former Mayor signed a progressive agreement with other Mayors regarding climate change, but to be honest that doesn’t really mean anything unless there is action on three levels: individuals, the business community and local government. the Mayor can sign any document he wants, that doesn’t neccesitate anything will happen.
So, the questions are: where are the people who are going to chang their lifestyle FROM TODAY ON, where are the businesses who are going to change their operating procedures FROM TODAY ON, and where are the industries that are going to provide us the alternative energy, goods and services FROM TODAY ON?
Signing papers, commenting on Blogs and blowing hot air isn’t just what we need…
Thank you for your response, Michael. I agree with you (except I think you need to adjust the contrast on your monitor). We need to take pride in our own ingenuity in order to build this new great industry; however, I also believe it’s important we make pledges individually and collectively, and I think it’s equally important we engage in an open and honest conversation on these issues because many people simply do not understand or recognize what an amazing opportunity we have in front of us.