When I left the Dream Reborn conference on Friday, I had a few questions: Exactly what are green jobs? How do we create them? And why has it suddenly become so important to talk about them? Yesterday, I got some answers. And it’s a good thing, too, since the conference wraps up today.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the answers I found. (We’ll have more in-depth coverage of the conference in a few days.) Pay close attention, because I’m gonna go through this stuff quickly — and in reverse order.
First up: Why green jobs now? Here’s Van Jones: “One of the reasons that it’s possible to imagine a new economy now is because as much fervor as there is from the grassroots, there’s also change afoot in the broader society.” Most people today recognize that climate change is more than just an environmental problem. Bracken Hendricks, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, went so far as to call it “the biggest human rights crisis in the world.” Various efforts to slow climate change are creating thousands of jobs. Jones, Hendricks, and their colleagues say these new green jobs will help ... Read more
