The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: green economy, dual crisis, green jobs, United States, The Government Question, The Green New Deal (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. As the "ecological crisis nears the boiling point," human rights activist and environmental leader Jones (president of the national organization Green For All) lays out a visionary, meticulous and practical explanation of the two major challenges the U.S. currently faces-massive socioeconomic inequality and imminent ecological catastrophe-and how the current third wave of environmentalism, the "investment" wave, can solve both. If industry players want to take advantage of growing consumer demand for green solutions, they'll have to follow principles of inclusiveness as well as conservation and inventiveness to create "broad opportunity and shared prosperity" for citizens at all levels of society. Rife with statistics, facts and history lessons, Jones introduces a "Green New Deal," a re-imagining of FDR's original New Deal that makes the government "a partner" (as opposed to a "nanny" or "bully") of the people, and sets about defining the principles of a "smart, supportive, reliable" partnership. Jones examines success stories from around the world (included close looks at Chicago and Milwaukee), defines government priorities at national and local levels and offers concrete solutions; one major positive step for any "significant U.S. metropolis" is to "invest massively in constructing buses, light rail cars, and mass-transit projects," creating good jobs while cutting greenhouse gases. With both caution and hope, Jones concludes that "tens of thousands of heroes at every level of human society" will be needed to carry off this third, and perhaps ultimate, green initiative.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Brother Van Jones is a visionary who spells out real solutions in black and white - and, of course, green. Van’s vision of a thriving, green economy doesn’t have throw-away things or throw-away people. It’s the kind of environmentalism everyone can get behind." -- Mario Van Peebles, actor and producer, Mario's Green House

"It’s rare that someone with such a gift for speaking is able to convey the energy and excitement of his message equally well in writing. With The Green Collar Economy, Van Jones surpasses all expectations. The country seriously needs his take on the environment and the economy." -- Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco

"Jones accomplishes the super heroic feat of linking together the solutions for poverty, the energy crisis, and global warming. Van is a visionary of our times, and one of my personal heroes. Every relevant 21st century leader needs to read Van’s book." -- John Hope Bryant, Founder & CEO, Operation Hope

"The Green Collar Economy is a both a rallying call and a road map for how we can save the planet, reduce our dependency on budget-busting fossil fuels, and bring millions of new jobs to America." -- Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund President and New York Times best-selling co-author of "Earth: The Sequel"

"The baton is passed to climate advocate Van Jones who clearly sees that our future must be green and must include everyone. His powerful new book ‘The Green Collar Economy’ shows us how to accomplish it." -- Laurie David

"This book illustrates the link between the struggle to restore the environment and the need to revive the US economy. Van Jones demonstrates conclusively that the best solutions for the survivability of our planet are also the best solutions for everyday Americans." -- Al Gore

"Van Jones has a unique ability to inspire people of all colors, classes and generations to uplift vulnerable people, while protecting our vulnerable planet. His sparkling intelligence, powerful vision and deep empathy are all on full display in The Green-Collar Economy." -- Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives

"Van Jones reminds us that the worst of times can also be the best of times -- that a nation with an abundance of resources it’s wasting -- beginning with its youth -- has an enormous opportunity to stop foolishly bankrupting itself by chasing resources it is running out of -- like oil." -- Carl Pope, Executive Director Sierra Club

"Van Jones’ authentic and passionate arguments trump the status quo. In The Green Collar Economy he holds the welfare of our neediest people front and center as he lays out a viable plan for the remainder of the 21st century." -- Tavis Smiley, Author, Television and Radio Host

"Van’s words echo the sentiments of many indigenous communities, who have endured the effects of coal strip mining, uranium mining and mega dams. The Green Collar Economy outlines industrial society’s path towards a just future." -- Winona LaDuke, Native American and environmental activist

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne (October 7, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061650757
• ISBN-13: 978-0061650758
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,456 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Leaves much to be desired, January 8, 2009

By	JP (California, USA) - See all my reviews

The Green Collar Economy covers a very important issue, at a very important moment in history, so I wish Van Jones had done a better job.

My largest complaint is that so much of this book (the first 65 pages) covers nothing but Hurricane Katrina and race relations. You would never tell from the cover descriptions or introduction that this really is a book about race and class. Van Jones comes across as obsessed with this issue, yet fails to convince me of a real connection between race and the environment.

Van Jones is also very non-specific throughout most of the book. He desperately needs more evidence, comparisons, and statistics to back up his claims. Not until the second to last chapter do we learn of specific policy solutions.

The Green Collar Economy also neglects some of the most important green issues. He dedicates less than one page to suburban sprawl vs. transit oriented development, which is really a paramount topic. Rail as a means of intercity travel is barely mentioned. He hardly mentions Europe, even though the US has so much to learn from them (How can you write book on anything green without drawing comparisons to Europe?).

Bottom line is I'm not sure who this book is for. Environmentalists will be unsatisfied with the lack of new information, and conservatives will remain unconvinced that Van Jones' proposals will actually work.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not well researched, May 18, 2009

By	Zachary Moitoza (Eugene, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author is on the right track in that we definitely need a green revolution, and this could help the economy. Unfortunately, there isn't hard data in the book really backing up much of the author's statistics and data. It is argued, for instance, that we could run out of coal. We supposedly have enough to last 250 years, although coal is only 49% of our electricity, and 22% of our energy. So, if we ramped it up, we could run out in our lifetime (and this would kill the planet). It would have been nice to see more data about fossil fuel reserves, or how much land would be needed to replace coal with solar, or how much battery technology would be needed to store it for night, etc.
Most glaring is the author's dismissal of nuclear power in one paragraph. The author suggests we could run out of uranium. This is only possible if we use light water reactors. Using Integral Fast Reactors, the fuel supply is unlimited. IFR reactors are 100 to 300 times as efficient, and can use very low grade ores, like uranium in granite or seawater! Obviously, the author is not an energy expert. I would recommend "Prescription for the Planet," by Tom Blees, or "Beyond Fossil Fools," by Joe Shuster, for an alternate point of view that does nuclear justice. The author may be in for a big surprise, since based upon current technology only nuclear plants can meet our energy challenge.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Reality Check on nuclear power is itself detached from reality, January 23, 2009

By	andris virsnieks (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

More nuclear power is produced here in American than in France and nuclear power provides 77 percent of France's electricity. But yet Van Jones dismisses nuclear power in one short paragraph (13 lines). Is he serious that things like more caulk guns will solve our growing energy needs? And if he really believes that there are viable energy solutions contained in this book why didn't he bother to create an index so that they can be found more easily by readers seriously looking for realistic answers to our complex energy challenges?