Green Economy. Green Jobs. Now.
From Blackberry updates in the middle of the the Clinton Global Initiative to Daily Show rundowns from my home in DC, I've been jarred as much as anyone by the unprecedented economic and political events unfolding in these United States this week. The feeling of distress is palpable wherever I've been.
These are the most uncertain times young Americans my age have ever known, and many are downright panicked. Frankly, they have good reason. That said - perhaps because of where I sit at the cross section of clean energy and youth advocacy - I'm very hopeful. And with what I think is also good reason. This uncertainty is a huge opportunity for the country, and in the midst of it, something really beautiful is happening tomorrow. Action.
And it sure isn't coming from congress, or have to do with another convoluted, unregulated bailout proposal.
Because we know the economic, energy, and climate crises we face are all connected, tens of thousands of people will be organizing events in all 50 states to tell our leaders that we're ready to take on these crises by building a green economy strong enough to put people back to work, lift people out of poverty, and begin to secure our climate.
"Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy" has been put together by Green for All, 1Sky, the We Campaign, the Energy Action Coalition and over 100 other diverse and extraordinary partners. The creation of a new, green economy represents our best path forward, and just as people of all ages, creeds, and locations have already committed, I really hope that you will join in rather than sit back and wait for the administration or congress to do something.
If you're not already involved, it's really simple to find an event near you, plan your own event, sign the petition or spread the word. Again... just head to the site.
Some people I've spoken with this week have asked what exactly people would or should be doing on a Day of Action. Here are some great examples my colleague and friend Billy Parrish sent earlier today.
In New York, the Green Jobs NY campaign is pushing for a program to retrofit a million homes in 5 years - an initiative that will create quality jobs and put energy bill savings back in consumers' pockets. Down the street from the Energy Action Office here in DC, African-American farmers will be meeting to discuss their role in a green economy. In the Southwest, the Navajo Green Economy Coalition will propose a Green Economy Fund to finance green job training programs and sustainable economic development initiatives to transition the tribal economy. The possibilities are virtually limitless.
Van Jones, the founder/President of Green for All which is behind the day of action wrote best about it, but in short, here's the big idea: With Green Jobs Now, partner organizations aim to raise these hundreds of local efforts up (over 600 as of this post!) as models, and call on our national leaders to bring these solutions to scale. We can put America back to work rebuilding and repowering America with millions of green-collar jobs. We can solve the climate crisis. We can overcome the problems of our failed economy.
Follow Jake Brewer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jake_brewer
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Going "green" isn't really a choice anymore, but with resources becoming very finite and very quickly it is only inevitable. The problem will be getting business' across an entire industry to make the change---when in a lot of industries it's still unprofitable or too cumbersome to make the conversion. Or in most cases--you run into political beliefs against. Fortunately, there always is a point where belief runs into reality. and reality usually wins.
When you can make green industry more profitable than business as usual, and those companies emerge as the new industry leader(s) you'll succeed.
That being said, I use canvas bags for my groceries.
As a concerned citizen and mom, I am signed up to an event in our local town. Anything I can do to ensure a better working environment for my children is important. I feel the only way to create real change is to be an example of living green. I have picked up some great ideas and information from Sloan Barnett's book "Green Goes With Everything", that I constantly share. It is amazingly simple to learn and do.
www.greengoeswitheverything.com
Given our shopping-obsessed, consumer-oriented nation, it was stunning to discover the small business I founded in Portland Oregon, DoughNation Services LLC, represents one of the most exciting new, sustainable industries to emerge in decades - and most of America has not heard of it yet.
DoughNation provides pickup, tax deduction documentation, and delivery of quality clothing and household goods to our local schools and communities - keeping as much as possible from landfills, matching the things we handle with community needs, and returning to tax deductions to clients usually worth much more than the fee for service.
The donation services industry needs to spread across the nation, and from this new industry countless more green enterprises can rise that feed off the 'donation stream' - furniture and electronics repair and resale, high-end resale shops and online auctions, etc.
DoughNation is my favorite green brainchild. Later this fall I am launching the Brainchild Adoption Center to house not only my neglected-but-worthy brainchildren, but brainchildren from across the nation that can be adopted and raised to create new enterprise!
I'n sure that fat cat lobbyists and Wall Street investors will want to torpedo the following plan.
"We the People" can make an even bigger investment than Wall Street if we spread it out over all users of electricity. An investment of 3 cents per-kWh of electricity used in this country could easily seed the conversion from fossil fuels (all sectors - residential, commercial, transportation, manufacturing)) to electric (again all sectors). Three cents per kWh would generate about $10 billion per MONTH, NOW, expanding to $75 billion per MONTH once we are fully converted to an electrical energy economy. For the average homeowner that would be around $30 per month. To accomplish this we must have government support write appropriate legislation for utility companies to collect the revenues and the government will have to create an independent energy board to administer it.
For this investment I would fully expect that a sizeable share of the stock and profits of the companies we invest in. Such a large investment would have to be run by a People's oversight board that monitors all investments and has presence on the boards of directors of the larger corporate entities that the investments spawn.
Once the infrastructure is in place there will be a need to make decisions about the future of the energy board’s agenda, its revenue stream, and its "investments". The socialist in me says that we could use some to fund things like healthcare and Social Security.
What the green economy needs is an infusion of cash. Even now, with Wall Street crying poor and begging for money investors like venture capitalists and angels don't want to talk to anyone unless they can get 3 to 500 percent return on their investment in a few years. Small businesses like my own can't get money anywhere and I've been producing green jobs for over 20 years, long before they had a name.
New technology and huge projects are very sexy but there are many small businesses and microbusinesses that can help and create maybe even more green jobs than all the giant ones but we keep making the same mistakes with the new industries as we did with the old, funding huge, risky businesses that we know 4 out of 5 will fail and ignoring the thousands of small businesses that with very small amounts of money, under a million in most cases could provide more stable long term jobs right in their community.
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I think this is a an extraordinarily important point, Organic-Guy.
In the same sense that the backbone of the American economy is small-medium enterprises rather than corporations in almost all industries, many green businesses have proven profitable models that need a only a couple hundred thousand to a couple million dollars of investment to generate dozens or hundreds of jobs in a local region.
While it's important that state/federal governments and large venture capital firms begin and/or continue to infuse large sums into large scale infrastructure such as wind farms or a nationwide smart-grid, it's equally important that smaller investors realize they can have a significant impact locally or regionally - and nationally when taken in aggregate - by making well-placed smaller investments.
Air pressure technology -- a way to bring a new green industry and jobs to America. . .
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