At first, I was confused about the resignation of Van Jones, a man so well-suited to his post as the White House Special Advisor on Green Jobs that his tenure should have been long and fruitful. Here was a man who’d founded a human rights organization championing the underprivileged, and then another group, Green for All, that pioneered the idea of re-engaging the working class in progressive new fields of employment like green building and alternative energy. He literally wrote the book on green-collar jobs, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Solve Our Two Biggest Problems (Harper One 2008) before most people had heard the phrase green collar jobs.

Hearing the news of his resignation over the weekend, I consulted the website of Green for All, the Oakland-based project he co-founded and ran before accepting the White House appointment. GFA expressed sadness and obliquely referred to “the buzz and speculation surrounding this news.”

Clearly, this was a murky issue, and Green For All wanted to avoid the mud.

Once I figured out that Jones had been heckled out of his job by right-wing ideologue, Fox News TV commentator and Supreme Heckler Glenn Beck, I knew there had to be lots more to read.

Chris Kelly had a wickedly blunt column on Huffington Post (though it preceded Jones’ resignation and was mostly about Meg Whitman) that drilled right to the core. He concluded that Jones had come under right-wing fire because he was black and a Marxist. “You might even call him a black Marxist. Because of how black he is. And because he’s a Marxist.”

As more news emerged, it became obvious that race was central. Beck had attacked Jones in retaliation for a boycott of his show led by Color of Change, an African-American advocacy group co-founded by Jones and James Rucker. The group was angered when Beck called President Obama a racist.

Ariana Huffington came on board today with a column thanking Glenn Beck for returning Van Jones to the public sector, where he can be more effective anyway: “Van Jones is a thoughtful leader who knows how to use words to move people to action,” she said. “…Now, thanks to Glenn Beck, we’ve got that voice back. No longer tied to his desk with a sock in his mouth, Van is now freed to do what he does best: inspire and energize groups around the country.”

There’s a scary thought, a black man on the loose inspiring the country. Next thing you know he’ll be wanting to speak to our youth about personal responsibility, fortitude and striving to do well in school.

Speaking of voices. Beck, Kelly and Huffington are all notably partisan, albeit at different political poles.

Which makes me wonder what moderate regular folks think? Could it be that most Americans, stressed by health care, job losses, real estate issues and the continuing war in the Middle East, simply see all this yammering as a missed turn in the road to getting things done? (That is, if they’re aware of it at all.)

For the majority of us who reside outside the political fray, this resignation is simply unfortunate because we need a strong leader guiding us toward more sustainable ways, especially here in the US where we gobble an amazing 40 percent of the world’s resources. We need to transition to new energy sources, green building and efficient business operations that can steer us clear of climate change catastrophes. These changes can and will provide economic renewal in the form of green jobs. That’s not just a hope. Green changes are already happening on a micro-scale, in wind turbine plants, on organic farms, at solar plants and electric car facilities.

The high-level post at the fulcrum of the action is so pivotal, and yet so vulnerable.

On hindsight, anyone serving as the green jobs chief was likely to be skewered in a country that still debates whether global warming exists… and is caused by carbon emissions from human enterprises.

Now we need someone who will help bring us together. Someone who can talk to us about personal responsibility.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Despite the white snowfall in Washington, D.C. this past weekend, the Capitol was deluged with green demonstrators who didn’t let the snappy weather chill their enthusiasm for fighting global warming.

An estimated 12,000 clean energy youth activists met in D.C. for PowerShift ‘09, a four-day summit to raise environmental awareness and lobby Congress for the passage of climate control legislation. Participants, most between the ages of 18 and 26, traveled from all 50 states, every province in Canada and a dozen other counties to take part in the event.

Quashing any stereotypes that this millennial generation is unmotivated or unconcerned, the long weekend featured roomfuls of rapt young environmentalists at seminars and panel discussions concerning a range of green issues. (Check out their energy in this You Tube video. Global Power Shift.)

Speakers like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., president of the Waterkeeper Alliance; EPA Chief Lisa Jackson; Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and Van Jones, founder and president of Green for All took to the stage to deliver messages of encouragement to the young people.

On Monday, March 2, the final day of the summit, participants marched proudly wearing green hard hats and carrying “No Coal” and “Clean Energy Now” signs down the West Lawn. From there, activists descended on the halls of Congress and met in small groups with 378 officials throughout the day.

But PowerShift ‘09 did not end March 2, says PowerShift organizer and Energy Action Coalition Executive Director Jessy Tolkan. “That was just the launch of a campaign that will continue until legislation is passed and the strongest possible bill has been sent to President Obama’s desk,” she says. “The most powerful generation yet is ready to step up and fight the fight.”

Green Right Now checked in with some of the green fighters from PowerShift 09 to get their take on the weekend’s events and their hopes for the future.

Name: Brianna Cato Cotter
Title: Communications Director for the Energy Action Coalition
City: San Francisco
Green Background/Job description: Brianna is in charge of producing creative media and communications strategies for the coalition.

Describe your most memorable PowerShift 09 moment:
The most memorable moment for me was watching five amazing young people testifying before Congress about the need for bold climate and energy policy. Kandi Mosset, an indigenous woman from North Dakota shared her story of surviving cancer and watching many people in her community die every year because of all the dirty, polluting energy in the region. And Juan Reynosa, a young activist from New Mexico who is trying to bring green jobs to his community. It was very powerful and what every politician needed to hear.

What impact did PowerShift ‘09 make?
We demonstrated to our new President and to Congress that young people will not go away until they pass bold, federal energy and climate legislation this year.

What action do you expect to now take place or what would you most like to see happen?
We need our representatives to pass federal energy and climate legislation that dramatically reduces emissions, creates millions of green jobs, and repowers America with 100% clean energy this year.

Name: Jessy Tolkan
Title: Executive Director for the Energy Action Coalition
City: Washington D.C.
Green Background/Job description: As the Executive Director for the Energy Action Coalition, Tolkan leads a coalition of 50 leading youth organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Under her leadership the Energy Action Coalition is growing a generation-wide movement to stop global warming, by advocating for green jobs, stopping new coal plants, and making young people’s voices heard in the policy debate around global climate change.

Describe your most memorable PowerShift 09 moment:
The most memorable moment was walking out on to the stage on Saturday evening and seeing 12,000 faces in the crowd. And it was 12,000 faces that really looked like a reflection of this diverse generation that I’m a part of. It was great seeing on their faces not only just pure excitement but really knowing that they’re committed to action beyond this conference and beyond this particular movement. I loved just being able to engage with people all weekend long, people with determination to go back into their communities and grow this movement and make sure the public gets loud.

What impact did PowerShift ‘09 make?
I think that after seeing 12,000 people converge on D.C., so many leaders realized that there is a very loud and active constituency watching their every move. This is a movement of people working tirelessly to send the message that addressing our climate crisis is not stepping away from addressing the economic crisis. We are the generation inheriting this economic mess, and we know the best steps to take right now involve ushering in a clean air economy and investing in green jobs. [PowerShift 09] helped members of Congress make the connection between climate issues and economic issues, and the connection between the 24 million youth voters that turned out on Election Day and the thousands that were in their offices and in D.C. this past weekend. We’re not going anywhere, and we’re going to be there to ensure the proper legislation gets passed.

What action do you expect to now take place or what would you most like to see happen?
We know there are a lot of competing priorities in Washington right now, but we’re looking to hold Rep. [Henry] Waxman [from California] to get legislation passed by Memorial Day. We’re only turning up the heat from here. During the PowerShift lobby day, we started scheduling appointments for people to see their congressmen when they’re in district in April. We’ll be there in April and in greater numbers than we were this weekend.

Rick Hunter, a St. Louis homebuilder, says he’s always been interested in green construction, but in the past decade has become a true believer that green is the future of building. For him and his three-year-old company, Sage Homebuilders, a green collar job is the whole package.

“We’re small and growing quickly,” says Hunter, a co-founder of the 12-employee company. “It’s fun to see how many people want to be part of this movement. People are getting excited about green collar jobs. They’re meaningful. They make people happier in their jobs and make people feel better about what they’re doing. And you can earn a living.”

In St. Louis, Hunter says, green collar jobs are “absolutely the trend, particularly in green construction.” Sage Homebuilders uses green products in new construction and renovation projects, focusing on upgraded energy systems (like the solar panels pictured on this “Near Zero” energy-saving home).

As the country struggles with an economic downturn and job uncertainty, talk of green collar jobs is becoming a larger part of the national dialogue. Late last month, a national rally Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy prompted events in 48 states. The rally, sponsored by Green for All, 1Sky and Al Gore’s WE campaign, focused on the dual cause of social justice and a green economy with events ranging from block parties to solution fairs.

A book on the subject, The Green Collar Economy, by Van Jones hit the book stores Oct. 7 and is already on the New York Times’ best seller list. The Oakland, California-based social activist and Yale Law School graduate is president and co-founder (along with Majora Carter of Sustainable South Bronx) of the jobs-oriented Green For All.

Both Green for All and Jones’ book promote an inclusive green economy that will not only be good for the environment but will help people out of poverty.

Sponsor 1Sky is a new national campaign which promotes federal action in combating global warming. Its scientific-based agenda urges that solutions be put into effect right away to avoid further climate change disasters and to develop a clean energy economy.

The WE campaign, started by Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, brings together advertising, online organizing and partnerships to inform the American people of the urgency to address the climate crisis.

So, what exactly is a green-collar job? According to Green For All, it’s a job that will preserve and enhance the planet. These jobs can be found in growing industries that will help reduce our dependency on oil, stop greenhouse gas emissions, remove toxins and shelter natural systems.

Think: People working in the recycling industries; green energy technicians; builders, masons and roofers with LEED know-how; solar panel installers; steel workers who make wind turbines; electricity company employees who counsel homeowners; hybrid car manufacturers; organic farmers; green landscapers; waste water workers; printers using green techniques; environmental science teachers and sustainability advisers in towns everywhere.

Green collar jobs will require some new skills or rethinking of old skills. Many green collar jobs are middle-skill positions that require more than a high school diploma but maybe less than a college degree. Not only are these jobs well-paying and career-tracked, but they are also domestic. And, says Van Jones, a green job should be within reach for the lower-skilled and low-income worker by giving them access to good training and support programs.

A green-collar job could include, for instance, cleaning up “brownfields,” abandoned or under-used industrial and commercial facilities, or even decaying open urban fields, that are available for re-use.