(Minnesota Independent) Van Jones, who has made a name for himself as a leading advocate for a green economy as a solution to both environmental and social justice issues, was named on Tuesday as President Obama’s choice to become Special Adviser for Green Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Jones is the founder of Green For All and author of the best-selling The Green Collar Economy. He was profiled by Thomas Friedman for Hot, Flat, & Crowded, and partnered with Al Gore in 2008 on a project called “Green For All Academy,” which trains people to “effectively advocate for a green economy.”
“My job will be to help shape the administration’s energy and climate policy, so the climate solutions produce jobs and justice for all Americans,” Jones wrote while dispelling rumors he would be a “Green Jobs Czar” handing out stimulus cash.
Paul Armentano called me, breathless, as he had just pulled over his car on the freeway shoulder to contain his excitement. There was Michael Savage (don’t get me started) on his radio raving about this new “Green Energy Czar” appointed by Barack Obama, how nobody knew who he was but Savage knew, and we were in for some terrible consequences from this pick.
That new czar is Van Jones, pictured above speaking at the 2002 NORML National Conference just two hours after comedian Bill Maher delivered the keynote address. The panel was entitled “State and Local Organizing: Future Leaders” and also featured Dominic Holden and Kris Krane.
He is also the author of “The Green Collar Economy” and is hailed by Al Gore, Thomas Freidman, and others for his visionary work in sustainability. And on the issue of the drug war, based on many previous conversations, Paul says, “he gets it.” He has written extensively on the need for prison reform and in a piece on Huffington Post, explained the disproportionately racist nature of the drug war:
Some of the greatest disparities in the juvenile justice system’s response to youth of color involve the number of youth arrested, and prosecuted for drug offenses. While African American youth comprise 17% of the youth population, African American youth represent 27% of all drug violation arrests, and comprise 48% of the youth detained for a drug offense.
“Contrary to popular assumption, at all three grade levels African American youth have substantially lower rates of use of most licit and illicit drugs than do Whites.”
— Monitoring the Future Survey, 2004.According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, among youths aged 12 to 17, the rate of current illicit drug use was 11.1 % among whites, and 9.3% among African Americans. In a previous year, the same survey found that white youth aged 12 to17 are more than a third more likely to have sold drugs than African American youth. The Monitoring the Future Survey of high school seniors shows that white students annually use cocaine at 4.6 times the rate of African Americans students, use crack cocaine at 1.5 times the rate of African Americans students, and use heroin at the same rate of African Americans students, and that white youth report annual use of marijuana at a rate 46% higher than African American youth. However African American youth are arrested for drug offenses at about twice the rate (African American 314 per 100,000, white 175 per 100,000) times that of whites, and African American youth represent nearly half (48%) of all the youth incarcerated for a drug offense in the juvenile justice system.
I can’t help but think that someone like Van Jones will bring the notion of industrial hemp to the table when discussions of those green energy jobs begin. Also, though his job wouldn’t involve drug or prison reform, knowing someone with a strong background in those areas has the president’s ear feels very positive, indeed.
Besides, it’s cool to have our first NORML speaker (to my knowledge) working in the Executive Branch!
Looks like Michael Savage knew more about Van Jones past then Obama did. Tough break for Paul Armentano huh? Hope he’s not taking the news too hard.
HEMP—POUND for POUND will produce twice the amount of ethanol gas than corn. How is that not GREEN??? It is in fact a green job issue! Not only that, but it grows twice as fast as corn! 2X the gas 2X as fast = 4X total gas volume per yearly harvest! Compared to corn, –which is what they are using now,—and it grows like a weed and needs very little pest sprays and fertilizers—as where corn has to be sprayed and fertile at a much larger ratio. Once again, —GREEN WINS AGAIN 4 HEMP!!! Not sold on HEMP 4 GREEN JOBS YET!!! That alone is more than enough to classify HEMP as a GREEN JOB source!!! BUT—here’s some more. HEMP can be made into–PAPER–which can save our forests–GREEEEEEN!!!!! HEMP can be made into fabric to make clothing—GREEEEEEN!!!! HEMP is like the GREENEST PLANT on the PLANET!!! HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of uses—and it grows fast—and on land where no other crop could survive—It opens a whole new growing ground which is not fit to grow food. We are talking HEMP here–NOT MARIJUANA!!! MARIJUANA—you will want those prize flowers—so just as vegatables they will need good fertile grown, plenty of water ect. BUT NOT HEMP!!!! You just want it to grow like the weed it is—You want the sticks/fibers/twigs/stalks—NOT the flowers!!! They can pretty much grow any where! Have you ever noticed how all the grass in the yard can be near dead and all brown—but the weeds are like two feet tall and green??? HEMP is more GREEN JOB connected/friendly—than any other plant on the face of this earth. It can be used for hundreds and hundreds of items and can grow where other plants will not, which opens up millions of more acres of land for growing which could not be used before. The very fact that we have not used HEMP is one of the biggest crimes of all time against our planet. It is GREEN GREEN GREEN with a capital GREEN!!!!!! Now that I drove that point home–here’s the good part! The laws that bind MARIJUANA to never be legal–is also the very laws that bind HEMP from being legal!!!! ONCE they open/re-visit/change the laws for HEMP it opens the door to legalize Marijuana at the Federal level–which has been blocked for decades thru CONGRESS written laws. It has to go thru and be changed at CONGRESS– as that is where it was and still is written as banned. This is HUGE!!!!!!! The HEMP factor alone is huge as it will save and create many new resources and create factories, and the best part is it will not cause a loss to oter crops as it can be grown where other crops can’t. A true new resource. HEMP is kick @ss GREEN—as GREEN as GREEN can get!!! WE have millions and millions of acres of land that can’t be grown on because they are poor conditioned. HEMP will grow there, and science will tweek them to grow well there, just as they tweek corn to grow faster than it really should–being that it is a food source—MY OPINION!! HEMP is the miracal plant that can be made into almost anything that isn’t metal!!! THE KING OF ALL GREEN!!!!! The laws passed by CONGRESS DECADES AGO is what has marijuana and HEMP forever chained at the federal level! If hemp is released from the chains that hold it, it will break the chains of the decades old CONGRESS made laws. It’s not nessasary what he does for marijuana–as much as what it will un-lock for others to do for marijuana.
The day when ALL cannabis is 100% legal is upon us. Everyone do your part.
[...] But times have changed. The U.S. economy is down and unemployment is up. Further, we have a President who is championing the notion of ‘green’ (environmentally friendly) job growth. (And who has even appointed one of our own to serve as his special advisor.) [...]
Great News ,Now if only something will come of it.Maybe the USA will be able to grow something “GREEN”. HEMP FOR VICTORY
Right, Peter Bourne, and here I just recently linked to that story. Let’s hope Jones is better for legalization than Bourne turned out to be.
Russ,
You’re wrong about this guy being the first NORML person in the executive branch. What about Peter Bourne under Carter?
This guy Jones seems to be a golden child–MacArthur Fellow “genius grant,” etc.–but I think the whole concept of green jobs is faintly ridiculous. Hey, maybe I’ll be wrong and it’ll be great for America.
It would be nice to see this guy push for industrial hemp–what could be greener than hemp?
I would suggest that if you think this guy is going to affect incarceration policy one way or another, you’re sadly mistaken.
This is awesome news. Exciting!!!!!
great article !!! very inspiring!!
OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi
great article !!! very inspiring!!