WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO WEAR GREEN?What will it take to implement a green-jobs agenda?By Sarah KarlinBefore signing the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, President Obama reminded Americans that the bill will not just boost the country’s ailing economy but will help modernize the nation. “Because we know we can’t power America’s future on energy that’s controlled by foreign dictators, we are taking a big step down the road to energy independence, and laying the groundwork for a new, green energy economy that can create countless well-paying jobs,” Obama said.Environmentalists see the stimulus as an opportunity to spur a revolution that will transform America’s old, gray, industrial economy based on coal, oil, and other dirty fossil fuels, into one that runs on clean, renewable energy. While green initiatives make up less than one-eighth of the stimulus bill, the chatter is all about green jobs, green infrastructure, and green energy. Green, green, green. But what exactly green jobs are and how such an infrastructure can be implemented are some of many questions that have yet to be answered.The green jobs movement saw a major victory in December 2007 when Congress passed the Green Jobs Act as part of the energy bill. The act was supposed to set aside up to $125 million to train workers for jobs in the clean energy sector, but President Bush’s budget requested $0 for the initiative. The issue gained increasing notoriety during the 2008 campaign with the publication of Van Jones’ book The Green Collar Economy and his many moving speeches, like his most recent one at Powershift this year. Jones founded Green For All, a national organization dedicated to building a green economy, and has laid out his vision for a “Green New Deal” that would create programs and policies designed to fight both global warming and urban poverty by creating millions of green jobs. With more than $80 billion dollars of the $787 billion economic recovery package going toward investments in clean energy, the bill takes an important first step. Jones’ vision is still incomplete, but there are compelling reasons to take the rest of the green-collar jobs movement seriously.Why go green?As the economy lags, some experts say that going green may be the best way to revive our economy and save the planet. Climate scientists predict that unless we curb global warming emissions, average U.S. temperatures could increase by 3 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. Global warming has been linked to deadly heat waves, an increase in wildfires, the spread of disease, and a host of public health and weather catastrophes. And while the United States makes up only four percent of the world’s population, the country is responsible for emitting 25 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide pollution. Low-income communities and communities of color also tend to be disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of a high-carbon economy.President Obama’s Energy Secretary Steve Chu said that an environmentally friendly, energy efficient economy is America’s only option in the fight against climate change. In an article last month in The Root, Chu warned that “without swift action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Americans might see their way of life grind to a halt.”That news sounds even more dismal than today’s enormous economic crisis. But the good news is that at last we have an Administration that is determined to take the action necessary to address global warming. More good news is that investing in environmentally friendly projects may be the best way to put thousands of Americans back to work. According to the Department of Labor the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.6 percent in January, the highest in 16 years. But according to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Commerce, investments in energy efficiency and renewable resources create mor |