Smug Glenn Beck Not Smart Enough to Come Up with Van Jones Attacks

Glenn Beck, idiot wannabe provocateur of Fox News, is undoubtedly more than happy to take the credit for Van Jones’ resignation as green jobs adviser to the Obama administration – but the fact is, he just isn’t doesn’t have the brainpower to be the mastermind behind the attacks.

Beck launched a vicious smear campaign against Jones, accusing him of being a communist and 9/11 truther among other things, on national television. But the campaign was actually orchestrated by Americans for Prosperity, a conservative think-tank that’s also responsible for a vast global warming denial campaign.

From DeSmogBlog:

On Fox News forum AFP’s director of policy, Phil Kerpen brags about how his organization brought down Van Jones:

“I spent the next two weeks researching everything I could find about Jones and the Apollo Alliance (much of which is still to be published, including a forthcoming paper from the Capital Research Center next month), the national umbrella organization for coordinating between the environmentalists, the labor unions, and the social justice street organizers that Jones has served as a board member and a primary national spokesman for.”

This was all then fed to Glenn Beck who gleefully took it to town and hammered away on Van Jones. No kidding, Beck is bent on bringing this administration to its knees and rallying the right-wing fringe players to follow suit. And it won’t stop here, the likes of Kerpen and AFP have found their rallying cry: “Don’t argue clean energy, but instead paint Obama’s policies as a socialist/communist plot to control America.”

There’s no doubt that Jones made a mistake when he signed that 9/11 petition – but he’s not a Truther, nor do any of the other epithets thrown at him recent weeks apply. David Roberts of Grist wrote two excellent articles about the whole debacle that refute the accusations made against Jones (Cleaning Some of the Fox Off Van Jones and Thoughts on Van Jones’ Resignation).

Is it any surprise that Americans for Prosperity has received vast amounts of cash from Exxon in the past? This is an anti-green organization that will do anything to preserve the status quo, and they’re happy to take down anyone in their way. Beck is just their puppet.

Link [DeSmogBlog]

Van Jones Explains Why He’s Going to Washington

He’s the perfect man for the job, so of course greenies across America are thrilled that Van Jones is joining President Obama’s administration to become a ‘green jobs adviser’. But, there are some who have questioned whether it’s really the best way to put Jones’ expertise to use, and wondered what he’s leaving behind as he heads to Washington. Jones sat down for interviews with E&E News and YES! Magazine to explain.

From Greenwire:

E&E: What will be your new role within CEQ, and why did you decide to join this administration?

Jones: The title is special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation. … As we begin to move toward a clean-energy economy, we have an opportunity to have equal opportunity from the very beginning, making sure all Americans can take part.

E&E: Will you also advocate the president’s agenda among the public?

Jones: That’s still in development. Part of my job description does have me available to advocate publicly, but I think we’re going to be focusing primarily internally for the near term.

E&E: Do you consider yourself Obama’s “green-jobs czar,” as some have dubbed you?

Jones: No, I’m the green-jobs handyman. I’m there to serve. I’m there to help as a leader in the field of green jobs, which is a new field. I’m happy to come and serve and be helpful, but there’s no such thing as a green-jobs “czar.”

Jones also answered some pressing questions from YES! Magazine, via GreenBiz.com:

Doug: What happens to Green for All while you’re in DC?

Van: That’s the best news of all, that we have an extraordinary leader in Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, who’s coming on board. Anybody in California knows that she is a truewunderkind. She has been a phenomenal leader of the progressive labor movement, she’s African-American, she’s young — in her early thirties. You just could not dream up a better person to come into Green for All at this time.

Doug: While you’re in DC, what can folks who have been following Green for All and working with you or on your initiatives, what can folks do to keep the movement going?

Van: Continue doing the things we have planned. We’re working to implement the green recovery in a just way. We need to get those recovery dollars out fast and fair. Anybody who’s interested can got to the website greenforall.org and you’ll see lots of opportunities to get involved and also lots of information about how to get those recovery dollars working in your own community. And that’s going to be an important part of what Green for All does going forward. To tell you the truth, I think in that start-up phase the early phase, visioning and initiating, I think I did an extraordinary job. We are in a different world, and Green for All needs a different leader. And it has that leader in Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins.

Jones is passionate about what he does – that’s what makes him such a great pick. So, of course he’s going to make sure that things are taken care of before he leaves Green for All to help Obama tackle the green jobs angle of economic recovery in Washington. I think we’ll see a lot of amazing things come out of this partnership, and Green for All will continue the fantastic work they’ve been doing for so many years now.

Link [Greenwire] + [GreenBiz.com] via [The Huffington Post]

Van Jones, Obama’s New Green Jobs Adviser

Over the past few days there’s been a lot of rumors and speculation about Van Jones possibly joining President Obama’s cabinet as ‘Green Jobs Czar’. It was finally confirmed yesterday that while ‘Green Jobs Czar’ is a bit of an overstatement, Jones wil indeed be serving as Obama’s green jobs adviser.

From Google:

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, who is perhaps the nation’s most high-profile advocate of green jobs, is the founder of Green for All and author of the book ‘The Green Collar Economy’. Grist caught up with him at the Democratic National Convention last August to ask whether he’d be interested in becoming a part of the Obama administration as green jobs czar or something similar, to which he responded “I can’t imagine what position he would offer me except the janitorial recycling staff, which I’d be happy to be a part of.”

Of course, Jones was being modest. He’s a natural choice for such a position, bringing with him years of experience organizing and advocating for green jobs training programs, particularly in poverty-stricken urban areas. When President Obama won the election last November, bringing Jones on staff was one of the first things we asked him to do. We’re confident that Jones has what it takes to help Obama lead this country into a new green collar economy.

Link [Grist] + [Google]

Thousands of Youth Energy Activists Prepare for PowerShift 2009

This week more than 10,000 activists will converge on Washington D.C. to hold our elected officials responsible for rebuilding our economy and reclaiming our future through bold climate and clean energy policy. This historic national youth summit, which will take place between February 27th and March 2nd, aims to pressure our political leaders to act – and to provide young people with training, ideas, connections and opportunities to make things happen.

The PowerShift 2009 conference, organized by the Energy Action Coalition, will be held at the DC Convention Center and will include a career fair, workshops, keynote addresses and entertainment. Speakers will include Van Jones, Nancy Pelosi, James Hansen and Majora Carter and performers include The Roots and Santigold.

The Nation lists some of the young activists scheduled to attend:

*A busload of Indigenous youth from the US and Canada who have been active in sustainability initiatives on tribal campuses and in their communities.

*A group of 50 Washington-area public and private high school students who have been lobbying to get the Board of Education to commit to making Montgomery Co Public Schools energy self-sufficient by 2050.

*A group of sixty students from Kentucky who are lobbying for a statewide moratorium on mountaintop coal removal, passing sustainability measures on their campuses, and creating innovative clean energy corps program models.

It’s not too late to sign up – check out PowerShift09.org for more info.

Link [PowerShift 09]

Help Green for All Save Obama’s Green Recovery Plan in the Senate!

Green for All has an urgent message for all of us – they need our help now, to save Obama’s visionary green Recovery Plan in the U.S. Senate. The right wing is mobilizing to kill the plan despite broad support among Americans, and our Senators will be voting on it in the next few days.

From Green for All:

THIS IS OUR LAST CHANCE TO ACT. Please call right now:

1. Call 1-866-544-7573 – This will take you to the Congressional switchboard, toll-free. Ask for your Senators’ offices. If you don’t know who your two Senators are, simply tell them which state you live in.

IMPORTANT: Lines may be clogged. Please keep calling back to get through to your two Senators’ offices.

2. What to say: Please pass President Obama’s Recovery Plan, with $500 million in funding for the Green Jobs Act. Thank you!

3. Forward this email to 10 friends.

4. Tell us how it went: Email team@greenforall.org.

Right now, Senators’ offices are counting every single call that comes in either for or against the Recovery Plan. Even if you just leave your zip code and stammer out a line of support for the act, it could have a major impact on how your Senators vote.

This is so important, and it will only take a few minutes of your time. Please take action now! There is also an online form you can fill out, but in these last few days, a call may be more effective.

Link [Green for All]

Van Jones Says: Come to PowerShift ‘09!

In the middle of our new administration’s first 100 days, Power Shift 2009 will bring 10,000 young people to Washington to hold our elected officials accountable for rebuilding our economy and reclaiming our future through bold climate and clean energy policy.

Here’s more info from their website:

From February 27th to March 2nd, 2009 young people from across the country will converge on Washington D.C. to take a message of bold, comprehensive and immediate federal climate action to Capitol Hill. We will leverage the momentum we have built through the Campus Climate Challenge, Power Shift 2007, and our election campaign Power Vote to pressure our politicians to take the action our generation demands.

Sounds like a great initiative to us. If you’re still not convinced to make the trek out to D.C., here’s Van Jones encouraging the youth of America to attend:

Obama Victorious! Let the Green Collar Economy Begin

‘President Obama’. Doesn’t it feel great to say that? We’re ecstatic about Barack Obama winning the presidency for so many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that we’ve now got the government on our side in the push toward a green collar economy. His historic victory means that instead of fighting against our leaders, we can be confident that they’ll be on our side.

Cleaning up Bush’s mess won’t be easy. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking that an Obama administration will magically be able to make everything better.  With the state the economy is in, we need swift, decisive action to prevent the situation from getting any worse.  That’s where Van Jones and his Green Collar Economy come in.

We already know that Obama and Biden plan to set bold new goals for America on energy efficiency; they want to create 5 million green collar jobs and start a shift toward renewable energy sources. They will increase fuel economy standards, add millions of plug-in hybrids to the roads, enact a windfall profits tax on oil companies and aggressively work toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Watch Obama’s August 4th 2008 speech on energy, if you haven’t already:

Obama and Biden will have the power to get these initiatives rolling, and Van Jones has the on-the-ground experience to help them achieve their ambitious goals.  Jones’ background in social justice and environmental activism makes him the ideal green economy advisor for Obama’s administration.

So, how about it, President-elect Obama? Last night, you made history and the world will never be the same. We’re a rejuvenated America, damaged by eight years of mismanagement but so hopeful about the future, so eager to pick up the pieces and start anew. It’s as good a time as any to create a new position in your administration – one that will allow Van Jones to help you bring your energy plan to fruition. Here’s to a green collar economy, and all of the good it will bring this country!

Link [Barack Obama] + [Amazon]

‘Green Collar Economy’ by Van Jones Flying Off the Shelves

When Van Jones wrote ‘The Green Collar Economy’, the Wall Street collapse hadn’t yet happened and Americans weren’t nearly as cynical about the future of America’s economy as they are today. The release of the book just happened to coincide with the meltdown, coming at a time when people are desperate for hope.  That propitious timing combined with a brilliant viral marketing strategy resulted in copies of ‘The Green Collar Economy’ flying off the shelves: the book debuted at #12 on the New York Times bestseller list this week.

Jones and the environmental organization he founded, Green for All, didn’t have much money to get the word out about “The Green Collar Economy”, but they did have the drive to get the book in as many people’s hands as possible. So, they improvised, and their strategy paid off big.  As Jones told The Huffington Post, “Usually to get to number 12 the first week as a new author you’ve got to spend a million bucks or be on Oprah.”

From The Huffington Post:

Through a combination of emails and phone calls to friends, bloggers, and a network of activists, Jones estimates that the viral campaign he and his co-workers launched resulted in emails being sent to millions of people, many of whom surely forwarded it along. The initial commercial success of “Green Collar Economy” proves that Internet buzz combined with online activism can push a book onto the best sellers list.

It also helps to have something original and important to say, which Jones clearly does. His book is an innovative and impassioned account of how transforming America into a greener society would not only address the global warming crisis but also generate enough jobs to help turn the around the economy around and provide work for the Americans who need it most.Jones and Green for All contacted around 150 organizations, national and local, reaching out to everyone from community gardening groups to the Hip Hop Caucus. They even got the owners of the domain name greencollareconomy.com to promote the book on their website. All of this hard work means that hundreds of thousands of people across the country are learning right now about how the environmental movement can help them, their companies and their families prosper well into the future while also aiding in the fight against global warming.

Learn more about Van Jones’ efforts to jump-start a green collar economy by reading his recent interview with The Huffington Post.

Link [The Huffington Post] + [Amazon]

Buy Van Jones’ New Book!

Watch this pair of great videos and you’ll understand just how important programs like Green Corps are.  Green Corps trains organizers, provides field support for today’s critical environmental campaigns and produce activists with the skills and commitment to win the environmental battles of tomorrow.

Green for All founder Van Jones knows that programs like Green Corps represent the future of jobs in America.  In fact, his new book, ‘The Green Collar Economy’, explains how we can use the green movement to create a clean energy revolution in the United States, resulting in an instant economic stimulus.  Why are you still reading this? Go buy his book!

Link [Grist] + [Amazon]

Van Jones: A Green Bailout Would be Twice the Bang for Half the Bucks

The historic $700 billion bailout package might – might – avert a total economic meltdown.  But, it’s probably not going to stop America from going into a recession.  So believes Van Jones, and he’s taken to The Huffington Post to explain why a ‘green bailout’ would be a better idea.  A $350 billion investment in green energy could provide millions of new jobs, boost the economy and help us move forward into clean energy independence.

From The Huffington Post:

A new report just released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors says that we can create over 4 million green jobs if we aggressively shift away from traditional fossil fuels toward alternative energy and a significant improvement in energy efficiency.

Another report just released by the Political Economy Research Institute and the Center for American Progress shows that the U.S. can create two million jobs over two years by investing $100 billion in a green economic recovery plan. The report also shows that this investment would create four times more jobs than spending the same amount of money within the oil industry.

Green For All and its partners are proposing a Clean Energy Corps that includes a revolving loan fund to finance the ambitious retrofitting of the nation’s building stock. An investment of less than $3 billion per year would provide financing and can be expected to create close to 120,000 green jobs a year and 600,000 over five years, while also lowering home heating and electricity bills for homeowners and small businesses.

As Jones points out, a green economic package like this would be expensive up front but would pay for itself in energy savings and in tax dollars generated by new jobs and businesses.  Read more about the Clean Energy Corps proposal at the Green for All website.  Jones also goes into greater detail of his vision for a better future in his new book, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems.

Link [The Huffington Post] + [Green for All]

Who’s Who in Green – Van Jones

‘Vangelism’ – it’s what Grist.org dubbed environmental and civil rights advocate Van Jones’ brand of activism. Not many environmental activists can say they’ve got a movement named after them, but Van Jones isn’t just any environmental activist.

What makes Van Jones’ work so unique is the fact that he’s equally dedicated to the human side of the environmental movement. He believes that helping the earth can help lift millions of people out of poverty at the same time, through a new, green economy. Van strongly believes that green collar jobs and opportunities can provide a positive path and help fight against social injustice. He has said that he’s just a soldier in the battle against eco-apartheid – an equal opportunity green economy is his goal.

Van is the founder and president of Green for All, an Oakland California-based organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. He also founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in 1996, named for the civil rights and human rights heroine. Green for All actually grew out of a project that Van was working on for the Ella Baker Center, creating a ‘Green Job Corps’ in Oakland. Green for All now links thousands of activists, organizations, policy makers, practitioners, businesses and community leaders together to advance the vision of a green economy that’s accessible to all Americans.

Van has been honored for many awards over the years, including the 1998 Reebok International Human Rights Award, the international Ashoka Fellowship, selection as a World Economic Forum ‘Young Global Leader’, and the Rockefeller Foundation “Next Generation Leadership” fellowship. He was also the recipient of this year’s Global Green USA Millenium Award, and was our very own #2 “Hottest Guy in Green”.

Here’s a great video clip of Van Jones’ interview with ABC News, where he discusses the Green for All campaign and his goal to bring green-collar jobs to the disadvantaged.

Van told Mongabay.com in June, “The idea of green-collar jobs tends to bring up the best in people. Often people from the government, from labor unions, from the businesses, people who work with community centers for young people, they had never met in a conversation where they are trying to create something together. When they met, they had to fight about something. This is an opportunity for people to say. ‘Hey, we have to come together and co-create an opportunity here for our community.’ This brings out incredibly creative thinking for the long-term good of the community.”

Fighting tirelessly to bring green opportunities to poor communities, Van has already achieved so much. He was instrumental in getting the Green Jobs Act of 2007 passed, which authorizes $125 million to train workers in green collar jobs. Every day, he’s out their campaigning for the good of the people of America as well as the environment, and he’s not showing any signs of letting up any time soon. People like Van Jones are what gives this country so much hope for the future – the idea that all of us, no matter where we come from and what our socioeconomic status, can take part in a cleaner and healthier world.

Van Jones’ Green Score: 64,982