Green Jobs Now

Van Jones is a modern day environmental hero. Not just concerned with global warming and green living, Mr. Jones has become a crusader in the quest to help everyone not only embrace environmental sustainability but benefit from it. His wonderful Green For All initiative is the embodiment of his vision.

Building upon a proven track record of success, Van Jones has expanded his laudable focus to include politics and the need for a revolution in every industrialized nation which moves us away from old solutions and embraces what is clean and green. To wit, at the end of this month, the Green Jobs Now project will hold community events in every corner of the United States in order to motivate people to engage in the political process and to persuade political candidates to add green jobs as a plank of their platform.

Here at Keyboard Culture, I have resisted the temptation to inject politics into my prose and by commending the Green Jobs Now project to your attention, I am comfortable that I continue to strike the right balance. My reasoning is simple: the real reforms which we need in order to combat global warming adequately will not be achieved without new government policies.

To be clear, this is not a call for you to vote for one candidate or another. Instead, it is a call to become involved in the political process or, if you already are involved, to press your favorite candidate to take a bold position in favor of green jobs. Details on the September 27 Green Jobs Now day of action are available at

GreenJobsNow.com

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

Green Jobs Benefit Everyone Who Breathes

I would like to congratulate Van Jones and the members of his coalition for the broad success of the inaugural Green Jobs Now Nationwide Day of Action. The gleeful passion with which the message of Green Jobs Now was received is further proof that citizens of the industrialized world are receptive to the notion that embracing a sustainable future does not mean suffering a reduction in quality of life.

Of long standing in the green jobs community is the wonderful organization the Apollo Alliance. Named for a grassroots initiative to call upon the President of the United States to declare a national initiative for clean energy just as John F. Kennedy did in launching the American space program, the Apollo Alliance gains strength with each passing day. Now that a pattern has emerged of announcements of groundbreaking renewable energy projects, including the massive wind farm off the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey (unveiled just a few days ago) the message of the Apollo Alliance is at the cusp of achieving critical mass.

For this reason, it is eminently appropriate that the Apollo Alliance has launched version 2 of itself, The New Apollo Program. Complete with compelling quotes and multimedia content, the New Apollo Program strikes me as containing the ideal blend of a pro-jobs, pro-environment, country-first group of themes.

Here are the key points:

1) Rebuild America Clean and Green

2) Make It in America

3) Restore America’s Technological Leadership

4) Tap the Productivity of the American People

5) Reinvest in America

Strong words! Best of all, even though it is targeted right at all levels of government in the United States, the strategy and tactics of the New Apollo Program can be copied in any nation.

Surf on over today to ApolloAlliance.org to learn more.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

When Jim Griffin and I created the Green Earth Expo, our vision was to bridge the gap between environmentalism and consumerism, to act as a nexus in which consumers who want to go green can meet vendors with green products and services who need more customers.

We hit the mark!

The Green Earth Expo was a successful culmination of the vision, as evinced by the feedback we received from exhibitors. Several of them told us that the quality of visitor which we attracted to the event was among the most receptive to their message they had seen in recent memory.

That made me smile!

In terms of our overall impact on commerce in the United States and around the world, though, the results of the Expo were middling. So, my good friend Jim Griffin has taken the vision which he and I originally conceived in a telephone conversation in February of 2007 and built upon it. The result is the United We Stand Expo, slated for August of 2009 in Washington, DC.

Jim’s move from Orlando to Washington is based on what I like to call version 2 of our vision for effecting real change in the green movement and it is based on a quest to create green jobs not unlike the good deeds of Van Jones and the Apollo Alliance.

Next time, I will share with you a telephone interview which I conducted with Jim in which he describes the United We Stand Expo and how it fits within the new partnership which he helped to form, Project Green America.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

griffin photo: Julie Copeland

In this 20-minute interview with my good friend Jim Griffin, we discuss Project Green America and the United We Stand Expo in depth as well as the role which the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway will play in his landmark activities.

Enjoy!

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

NOTE: audio for this post is available at the end

Jim Griffin of Project Green America is one of the good guys. Even has he has continued work on the United We Stand Expo to take place in August, his advocacy for the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway (HyRail) has accelerated.

Since I last wrote to you about the HyRail, much has happened to bring it within baby steps of breaking ground. However, political pressure must continue to be placed on elected officials throughout the United States and the world to bring it to fruition. To that end, Jim Griffin gave a fabulous interview to a radio station near Washington, DC in which he explained several key points about the HyRail, including one which did not arise in my past coverage, the fact that it can clean polluted waterways.

I exhort you to listen to the entire 27-minute interview which is available below. I guarantee that when it ends, you’ll wonder why everyone doesn’t want the HyRail.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

NOTE: audio for this post is available at the end

Last time, I shared with you the fabulous radio interview which my friend Jim Griffin gave on March 23. In it, he covered a great deal of material surrounding the Interstate Traveler Hydrogen Superhighway (HyRail), particularly its ability to purify water bodies. Not surprisingly, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

In parallel, support for the HyRail and the United We Stand Expo continues to grow to such an extent that WNAV asked Jim to return and he brought Justin Sutton on the air with him. In their broad interview, Jim and Justin shared amazing insights about the true meaning of their parallel initiatives and I am delighted to share the recorded excerpts with you.

Embedded just below this text is the player through which you can listen to the 38-minute recording. I encourage you to take the time right now to listen to it and ruminate on the technological revolution which is about to fire off. I know that you will derive every bit as much inspiration from the recording as I do.

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

Green Jobs Now

Since 2007, it’s been my pleasure to share details with you about Van Jones and his fabulous organization, Green For All. Simply put, they do great work.

It’s also been my pleasure to refrain for engaging in politics here on Keyboard Culture Global Warming as much as possible because there is a great deal which every citizen of every nation on Earth can do irrespective of the leadership in power. Moreover, since the policies needed to reverse climate change and place us on the path of permanent environmental sustainability have been politicized to the extreme in recent years, shying away from the political aspect of the fight against global warming benefits most everyone.

Well, in mid-March, an announcement came from Green For All which must be shared with everyone because of the good news it heralds and despite its political overtones. Van Jones has been appointed to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. No matter who won the 2008 presidential election, I would be overjoyed with this decision.

So, what will Van Jones do in Washington? Here is an excerpt from his announcement:

“My job will be to help shape the administration's energy and climate policy, so that climate solutions produce jobs and justice for all Americans. I am going to be the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.”

Amazing news, right? Absolutely but it is only half of the double whammy which environmentalists received on the same day. The successor to Van Jones at Green For All as Chief Executive Officer will be Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, a leader with key distinctions in her background from Van Jones but who is no less qualified to lead Green For All into its next evolutionary stage. Here is a quick excerpt about Ms. Ellis-Lamkins from the same announcement:

“As nearly everyone who lives in California already knows, Phaedra is a true superstar - widely recognized as one of America's most brilliant, creative and successful social justice leaders. She helped to expand health care access in San Jose and across California. She also helped to raise the minimum wage for low-income families in the South Bay - twice.

As a result, San Jose Magazine named her one of the 100 most powerful people in Silicon Valley. The Silicon Valley Business Journal called her one of ‘40 leaders to watch under 40.’”

One of the section titles of the announcement from Green For All regarding these two historic moves was [bold]Green Jobs: Moving From Inspiration to Implementation[/bold]. That is exactly what I advocate and as my readership numbers cross the monthly thresh hold of 1,000,000 pairs of eyes and growing, I will continue to disseminate the proof that we can fight global warming while simultaneously driving up wages and driving down air pollution, an example of the triple bottom line of sustainability which no one can oppose!

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

I take great pride in the fact that I have lived carbon-neutral since 2005 and am at the cusp of a carbon-negative lifestyle. However, it was relatively easy for me to make the change from average consumer to become one of the few who live carbon-neutral, certainly much easier than for a large multinational organization such as News Corp.

The harsh realities of the difficulties for News Corp. were exacerbated because the top man, Rupert Murdoch, was a global warming skeptic who made financial contributions to politicians and political organizations which deliberately stoked fears and falsehoods surrounding climate change. Then, at about the same time that I went carbon-neutral, Mr. Murdoch announced his commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

As a captain of the broadcast and news industry, Mr. Murdoch very easily could have surrounded himself with yes men and ignored the climate crisis. Instead, he announced publicly for his employees, shareholders, supporters, friends and the rest of the world that carbon emissions are the enemy of a healthy planet which must be vanquished.

Up until that point, Mr. Murdoch had been so intransigent in ignoring the environmental community that I fretted that his new commitment to reducing carbon emissions was a ploy to keep the environmental community confused. Moreover, since many months passed before News Corp. announced milestones and other achievements, I essentially ignored the organization’s progress.

Then, at the beginning of March of this year, everything changed. [italic]24[/italic], one of my favorite television programs and one of the most successful scripted dramas of the new millennium, became America’s first-ever carbon-neutral television production, a huge accomplishment.

However, as tremendous an achievement as the carbon-neutrality of [italic]24[/italics] is, arguably the most laudable aspect is the decision by Fox network to air public service announcements by two of the show’s stars inviting all viewers to visit the network’s website to learn more about what Fox and its parent, News Corp., are doing to reduce carbon emissions and spread the word.

Since the inception of this blog, I have told my readers that the most important thing we can do to fight global warming, after become carbon-neutral in our lives, is to make the green message cultural. News Corp. is doing precisely that, including with its dedication of valuable air time to run public service announcements which send a very clear message about the urgency of the climate crisis and the commitment of the entire News Corp. organization to do its part to go green.

You’ll find ample details regarding the global energy initiative of News Corp. at

http://gei.newscorp.com

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler

My heart goes out to the victims and families affected by the rash of recent coal mine disasters around the world. Our top focus must be on the workers who risk life and limb every day, deep beneath the Earth’s surface to bring ancient, fossilized fuel topside. However, even as we grieve, let us remember that coal is an anachronistic source of energy. It belongs in the ground, where the planet placed it millennia ago.

Coal is a known killer. Coal kills many who work to harvest it. Coal kills people who live downwind of the electrical power plants which burn it. Coal kills people and wildlife which drink from streams which mountaintop removal mining has contaminated. How serious is such contamination? Here’s a quote from Dr. Dennis Lemly of the United States Forest Service, speaking with respect to the area which parenthetically has seen some of the most recent coal mining fatalities:

“Before mountaintop removal, cases of severe selenium contamination were mainly limited to coal-fired power plant discharges. Now they’re appearing across Appalachia near mountaintop mines.”

Nothing good but cheap electricity and heat comes from coal. Arguments that coal mining creates economic prosperity are disingenuous at best and perfidious at worst. When the true cost of medical care from people suffering from pulmonary conditions caused or exacerbated by coal dust or smog are included, coal is far costlier than renewable energy. Then, when other side effects of coal are included, such as neurological damage from mercury poisoning, can we truly claim that this black killer has any advantage over renewable energy?

Mountaintop removal mining, mentioned in the quote above from Dr. Lemly, is doubly bad because it inflicts enormous damage aboveground, too.

I could go on and on about how coal kills. However, I trust that I have convinced you. If so, I encourage you to support the work of fine organizations such as Appalachian Voices which strive to raise awareness of the truth about coal, especially mountaintop removal mining. I exhort you to visit their website for additional details:

ILoveMountains.org

Fomenting the Triple Bottom Line

Corbett Kroehler