Green For All

Infobox_Organization
name = Green for All


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formation = 2007
website = [http://www.greenforall.org www.GreenforAll.org]

Green for All is an organization whose goal is to build a green economy while simultaneously lifting citizens out of poverty. Green for All was founded by Van Jones, head of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and was officially launched in September 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative. [Clinton Global Initiative, 2007 ]

The United Steelworkers (USW), the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Green for All and the Blue Green Alliance, a partnership of the USW and Sierra Club, have launched the national Green Jobs for America campaign [ [http://www.bluegreenalliance.org/site/c.enKIITNpEiG/b.3227091/k.E4AB/Blue_Green_Alliance.htm Blue Green Alliance | The Blue Green Alliance ] ] .

History

Green for All was founded by Van Jones after Jones grew increasingly concerned with issues of poverty and crime, as well as the lack of a solid infrastructure for "green" jobs. Rather than approach each issue separately, Jones decided to combine the two in a more unified vision and business model. [cite web| last = Walsh| first = Bryan| title = Bring Eco-Power to the People| publisher = Time| date= 2007-11-21| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1686811,00.html| accessdate = 2008-03-27] . The organization launched in September 2007 at the Clinton Global Initiative, when Jones appeared to announce Green for All's commitment to securing one billion dollars by 2012 to create "green pathways out of poverty" for 250,000 people in the United States. Jones also added that the Ella Baker Center would continue to run a "Green-Collar Jobs Campaign" regionally and statewide in California. [cite web| last = Patel| first = Ami| title = Green for All has Launched!| publisher = It's Getting Hot in Here| date= 2007-10-01| url = http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2007/10/01/green-for-all-has-launched/]

A major component of the Green for All movement is job security:

You can’t take a building you want to weatherize, put it on a ship to China and then have them do it and send it back. So we are going to have to put people to work in this country — weatherizing millions of buildings, putting up solar panels, constructing wind farms. Those green-collar jobs can provide a pathway out of poverty for someone who has not gone to college. [cite web| last = Friedman| first = Thomas L.| title = The Green-Collar Solution| publisher = New York Times| date= 2007-10-17| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/opinion/17friedman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin| accessdate = 2008-03-26]

According to a March 26, 2008 press release from United Press International (UPI), the green-collar job sector is growing in the United States, and could include more than 14 million workers by 2017. Although it is difficult to pin down what constitutes a green-collar job, the American Solar Energy Society said there are around 8.5 million U.S. jobs that involve Earth-friendly enterprises and renewable energy sources. This figure could grow by 5 million in the next 10 years according to Jerome Ringo of the Apollo Alliance. ["'Green Collar' Jobs Have Growth Potential," United Press International, 2008-03-26 ]

Green for All and other green-energy businesses have been receiving increased press by major publications such as the New York Times [cite web| last = Greenhouse| first = Steven| title = Millions of Jobs of a Different Collar| publisher = New York Times| date= 2008-03-26| url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/business/businessspecial2/26collar.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp| accessdate = 2008-03-26] , USA Today [cite web| last = Bello| first = Marisol| title = Cities cultivate 2 types of green| publisher = USA Today| date= 2007-12-12| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2007-12-12-green-jobs_N.htm| accessdate = 2008-03-26] , Business Week [cite web| last = Scanlon| first = Jessie| title = America's Green Policy Vacuum| publisher = Business Week| date= 2008-02-11| url = http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/feb2008/id20080211_334519.htm?chan=innovation_innovation+%2B+design_top+stories| accessdate = 2008-03-26] and The Nation [cite web| last = Brecher| first = Jeremy, Tim Costello, and Brendan Smith| title = How Green is Your Collar| publisher = The Nation| date= 2008-03-26| url = http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080407/brecher_et_al| accessdate = 2008-03-26] , indicating that the growth potential cited by UPI is picking up steam in the public sector as well.

The Green Jobs Act of 2007

Green for All was a major proponent of the Green Jobs Act of 2007 ["Green Jobs Act of 2007," Thomas.gov ] , which received vital support from Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. The Green Jobs Act, which was inserted into the general 2007 Energy Bill (it is listed as Title X), was passed by both the House and the United States Senate. The Green Jobs Act directs $125 million annually for greening the nation's workforce, including job training for 35,000 people every year. It also authorizes $25 million each year to fund programs like the Oakland Green Jobs Corps, and has been hailed as a major far-sighted environmental bill. ["About Green for All," Green for All ] .

The Dream Reborn

On the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination, Green for All plans to hold a conference in Memphis, Tennessee to "deepen relationships and skills in the arena of climate justice" and to help build "opportunity for poor communities in the new green economy." Van Jones, Majora Carter, Winona LaDuke, and others will be attending the conference from April 4-6, 2008. [cite web| last = Hoffner| first = Eric| title = Green Dream Reborn| publisher = Grist| date= 2008-03-13| url = http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/3/12/182013/529| accessdate = 2008-03-26]

Personnel

*Van Jones, Founder
*Majora Carter, Advisory Council Chair

References

Media

* [http://ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=44&video=187 Van Jones at Speaker Pelosi's Press Conference]
* [http://greenforall.org/resources/gcjobsamericascities.pdf Green-Collar Jobs How-To Guide (PDF)]

External links

* [http://greenforall.org Green for All]
* [http://dreamreborn.org The Dream Reborn]