Van Jones Appointed Green Jobs, Innovation Adviser

WASHINGTON — Author and activist Van Jones will be a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation in the Obama administration.

Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a release Monday that Jones will start work next week to help direct the administration's efforts to create jobs and help the environment. Sutley said Jones will work on "vulnerable communities."

Jones founded Green for All, a national organization that promises environmentally friendly jobs to help lift people out of poverty. He wrote the New York Times best-seller "The Green Collar Economy."

Comments

[gladys46]

03:01 PM on 03/18/2009

Great ! At last visibility for this very smart man ! Congrats Van !

[PiscesGirl24]

12:44 AM on 03/11/2009

Van Jones is doing great things in Northern California and with this position he will be able to impact more regions. I think the comment about "hoping women are part of his program" isn't an issue. He is about uplifting communities, which include women.

He is a fantastic speaker, with a fantastic message that has been working to get things done long before it was popular. This is a GREAT CHOICE!!

Congrats Van!!

[bouldercreeker]

10:13 PM on 03/10/2009

Van Jones is an awesome choice if his walk matches his talk--which I trust it does. I have heard him speak and he is riveting. My only hope is that women get as many of these new jobs as men do. A couple of times I've heard Van Jones speak, he's made reference to getting men away from handguns and into caulking guns. Let's hope the women will be caulking, too!

[valkyrie607]

12:48 AM on 03/11/2009

You'll be happy to know that during his talk at PowerShift 09, Van specifically mentioned the fact that women can install solar panels just as well as men do, and that we should make sure that green jobs go to women as well as men.

[Greenguy25]

08:39 PM on 03/10/2009

I guess speaking the truth about this appointment being made in haste, is reason to remove it from the comments. Perhaps speaking the truth about there being a thousand other choices more deserving and more qualified is not what people want to hear.

That said, I did note that Van Jones was someone whom I've considered a leader in this movement for a number of years.

http://www.mygreenscene.com

[hedgewytch]

08:22 PM on 03/10/2009

WoooHooo! Happy Dance!

[toxicbrainpoison]

05:45 PM on 03/10/2009

Yessssss!!!!!

[starsnsea]

04:20 PM on 03/10/2009

To learn more about Van Jones, please see vanjones.net for more on his brilliant, fully refreshing solutions.

He is a powerful speaker, utterly pragmatic, deeply informed, and a true visionary.

As Van says: in the 60s we were revolutionaries. Now we are solutionaries.

Van Jones rocks!

[sheila]

04:07 PM on 03/10/2009

great. please start by implementing programs so that EVERYONE can afford to get solar panels on their roofs and gets paid for power they produce but do not consume. Not only is this the only democratic way to "do" renewable energy, but it is the fastest, cheapest, creates the most jobs, and saves our open spaces from destruction.

plenty of low income families live in sunny, PV-friendly areas and they could use a boost in their income. by encouraging them to conserve power, and by paying for power they feed into the grid, we get greatly increased energy conservation, economic stimulus, and full engagement by all residents. no more enslavement to utility bills and the dependent futility of bill subsidies - let's re-focus those funds to get people EARNING by doing the right thing!

[RationalDubSteppa]

03:40 PM on 03/10/2009

Awesome choice... this is really turning into one great cabinet.

[gaja]

02:09 PM on 03/10/2009

brilliant decision!

i heard Van speak at the Craigslist Foundation Bootcamp a couple years ago and he is incredible! very inspiring and a phenomenal leader and speaker!

[Bitsko]

01:49 PM on 03/10/2009

Nice choice, Mr. President.

[princessk]

12:50 PM on 03/10/2009

I first heard about him only recently, and now I hear his name everywhere. Funny how that works sometimes. That said, he seems like a good choice.

[jenfour]

10:49 AM on 03/10/2009

I saw Van Jones speak at Powershift (www.powershift09.org) last weekend and he was amazing! Inspirational, educational and all around great. He will make an incredible head of green jobs. He spoke to 12,000 young people of all colors last weekend as they came together for the largest conference on global warming. Young people are looking for a change in power in Washington, and Obama appointing Van is a huge victory. Thank you President Obama for choosing such a dedicated, passionate professional to lead us into the new green economy! Thank you Van Jones for all your work and we look forward to working with you and hearing about what is going on in the green job sector.

[michyh]

09:11 AM on 03/10/2009

a very good decision.

And yes, to some degree we do bear responsibility, though not fault or blame.

We disenfranchised the AA community first my enslaving them and next by ensuring they were not entittled to any share of land, housing etc over the decades.
Then, when we had poisoned it beyond belieft, we expected them to come ot the table and care about what we never allowed them to be part of.
Sad, but true.
Also true , a new day is here and with folks like Van Jones and Majora Carter, hopefully , this will now adjust as has ownership of land, houses,wealth etc for the AA community, though, still disproportionate.

[Spiritof1982]

09:46 PM on 03/09/2009

Van Jones: coming to a roof near you. And in very statuesque form.