The Bush administration’s so often pitted economic concerns against environmental ones, namely claiming that the former will suffer if the latter are addressed. But today, a new book’s come out that argues the two concerns can, in fact, be resolved simultaneously. In The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, socio-environmental justice leader Van Jones asserts that “The best answer to our ecological crisis also responds to our socioeconomic crisis.”

That answer’s what Van — founder of Green for All and an organizer for Green Jobs Now — describes as the Green Collar Economy that could be created via a “Green New Deal.” Such a green deal would create a whole bunch of green-collar jobs: middle-skill, family-supporting, career-track jobs that contribute “to preserving or enhancing environmental quality” and mostly “require more education than a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.”

Van kicks off his book with the story of a family that survived Hurricane Katrina. “The Katrina story illustrates clearly the two crises we face in the United States: radical socioeconomic inequality and rampant environmental destruction,” Van says. He points out that today, environmentalism and social justice issues are divided into separate camps — then goes on to show that both environmental and social justice issues can be resolved simultaneously by pursuing a green economy.

“The solution for the economy is simple,” Van says. “Deliberately cut demand for energy and intelligently increase its supply. Those two steps will bring supply and demand back into balance, stabilizing energy costs and eventually lowering them. When energy prices settle and come down, all prices settle and come down—and we can begin to grow the economy again.”

Of course, achieving that solution’s not all that simple. Van concedes that “the transition to a green-collar economy is not only a matter of economics and entrepreneurship; it is also a matter of policies and politics.” Van calls for a new coalition — of enviro-nonprofits, labor justice movements, and many other groups and individuals — to battle against the “industrial – petroleum complex.”

To illustrate his point, Van points to many existing programs all over the nation that are already achieving the goals he’s outlining — albeit on a smaller scale. Van’s hope’s to draw from these programs, scaling up with the next administration to achieve both environmental and social justice goals.

For me, Van’s book helps bring together two of my passions — fair trade and environmental activism — to examine them under a single lens. The Green Collar Economy‘s an inspiring read that’ll make many activists think about new alliances with other groups pursuing seemingly different yet convergent goals.

[crossposted on BlogHer]

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