The Green-Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems - Hardcover

Jones, Van; Conrad, Ariane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061650757 ISBN 13: 9780061650758

Publisher: Harperone, 2008

Synopsis

“Steadily—by redefining green—Jones is making sure that our planet and our people will not just survive but also thrive in a clean-energy economy.”
—Leonardo DiCaprio

A New York Times bestseller, The Green Collar Economy by award-winning human rights activist and environmental leader Van Jones delivers a much-needed economic and environmental solution to today’s two most critical problems. With a revised introduction and new afterword by the author—a man who counsels President Barack Obama on environmental policy—The Green Collar Economy and Jones have been highly praised by a multitude of leaders and legislators, including Al Gore, Senator Tom Daschle, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Van Jones was named one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People of 2009” by Time magazine, and with The Green Collar Economy he offers a wise, necessary, and eminently achievable plan for saving the earth and rescuing working class Americans.

About this title

Review:

The Green Collar Economy is a both a rallying call and a road map for how we can save the planet, reduce our dependency on budget-busting fossil fuels, and bring millions of new jobs to America. --Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund President and New York Times best-selling co-author of "Earth: The Sequel"

"[Jones] new book -- which details how an ambitious public spending program on energy efficiency and renewable energy can stimulate the economy and create good jobs for the poor and unemployed -- couldn't have landed at a better time."--Washington Post

"Van Jones has made a national name for himself by finding one solution to three persistent problems: poverty, racial inequality, and the environmental crisis. He wants to solve these problems by creating green jobs filled by the poor and people of color--the groups often left behind during technological advances."--Boston Globe

"The baton is passed to climate advocate Van Jones who clearly sees that our future must be green and must include everyone. His powerful new book 'The Green Collar Economy' shows us how to accomplish it."--Laurie David, global warming activist

"Once in a very long while, a truly original voice enters our national political discussion--and changes the conversation for the better. [...]Van Jones does just that. The Green Collar Economy lets us envision a world in which the Earth and everyday people both thrive."--Senator Tom Daschle

"Van Jones has a unique ability to inspire people of all colors, classes and generations to uplift vulnerable people, while protecting our vulnerable planet. His sparkling intelligence, powerful vision and deep empathy are all on full display in The Green-Collar Economy."--Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives

"This book illustrates the link between the struggle to restore the environment and the need to revive the US economy. Van Jones demonstrates conclusively that the best solutions for the survivability of our planet are also the best solutions for everyday Americans."--Al Gore

"Jones accomplishes the super heroic feat of linking together the solutions for poverty, the energy crisis, and global warming. Van is a visionary of our times, and one of my personal heroes. Every relevant 21st century leader needs to read Van's book."--John Hope Bryant, Founder & CEO, Operation Hope

"Van's words echo the sentiments of many indigenous communities, who have endured the effects of coal strip mining, uranium mining and mega dams. The Green Collar Economy outlines industrial society's path towards a just future."--Winona LaDuke, Native American and environmental activist

"Pay attention: we are witnessing the debut of a major American voice."--Paul Hawken, author of Blessed Unrest

From the Back Cover:

Provocative, personal, and inspirational, The Green Collar Economy is not a dire warning but rather a substantive and viable plan for solving the biggest issues facing the country—the failing economy and our devastated environment. From a distance, it appears that these two problems are separate, but when we look closer, the connection becomes unmistakable.

In The Green Collar Economy, acclaimed activist and political advisor Van Jones delivers a real solution that both rescues our economy and saves the environment. The economy is built on and powered almost exclusively by oil, natural gas, and coal—all fast-diminishing nonrenewable resources. As supplies disappear, the price of energy climbs and nearly everything becomes more expensive. With costs and unemployment soaring, the economy stalls. Not only that, when we burn these fuels, the greenhouse gases they create overheat the atmosphere. As the headlines make clear, total climate chaos looms over us. The bottom line: we cannot continue with business as usual. We cannot drill and burn our way out of these dual dilemmas.

Instead, Van Jones illustrates how we can invent and invest our way out of the pollution-based grey economy and into the healthy new green economy. Built by a broad coalition deeply rooted in the lives and struggles of ordinary people, this path has the practical benefit of both cutting energy prices and generating enough work to pull the U.S. economy out of its present death spiral.

Rachel Carson's 1963 landmark book Silent Spring was the pivotal ecological examination of the last century. Now, rising above the impenetrable debate over the environment and the economy, Van Jones's The Green Collar Economy delivers a timely and essential call to action for this new century.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harperone
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0061650757
• ISBN 13: 9780061650758
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 237