[Book Review] The Green Collar Economy
Book Review
The Green Collar Economy
by Van Jones
Foreword by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
This year has been a tough year for the planet ecologically and Mother Nature continues to heal itself over time. In this very practical and clearly written manifesto on “green jobs” and how to fix the two of the biggest crisis effecting the world. Environmental activist and former White House counselor on green economy Van Jones presents a ambitious agenda to clean up the “oil spill” of socioeconomic inequality and rampant environmental destruction.
He provides a blue print for everyone who wishes to make a change on planet earth for cleaner and renewable future. He questions “how can we make this effort inclusive, ennobling, and empowering to people who were disrespected in the old economy”? An award winning human rights and environmental leader Jones puts his experiences with organizing activist, businesses and local governments to pen and paper presenting a serious and critical analysis of how we treat each other and the planet we live on.
I finished the book and found some interesting points that would be helpful for the Obama Administration and other foreign governments to consider when debating about fossil fuel and green energy replacement. “It should be about reclaiming thrown-away communities. It should not just be around recycling materials to give things a second life” he continues to write “we should also be gathering up people and giving them a second chance”. Jones believes that today we live in a divided society of “eco-apartheid: where affluent Americans eat organic food, drive hybrid cars and are more concerned with saving polar bears than alleviating the concerns of have nots who battle with pollution, access to healthy food and newly competitive jobs.
In the midst of the current BP oil disaster and its nightmarish impact on local fishing communities this book proves that once we build a green economy we can also help lift people out of poverty and unemployment. even though he resigned from his position at the White House let’s hope the President still has his copy of the book in the Oval Office.
- Alvin Singh II
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