Capítulo 4
Building a Green Growth Alliance
Achieving a truly inclusive green economy requires challenging the existing "military-petroleum complex" that dominates our economic, energy and foreign policies. We need a durable political coalition-a "Green Growth Alliance"-that fuses compassionate civil society with the enlightened self-interest of green businesses.
This alliance is already taking shape through organizations like the Apollo Alliance (uniting labor, environmental groups, community organizations and businesses) and the Blue Green Alliance (partnership between Sierra Club and United Steelworkers). Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection and newer groups like 1Sky and Green For All are engaging constituencies from PTA moms to African American ministers.
The green movement struggles when perceived as serving only affluent Americans. Many ordinary people imagine environmentalism as wealthy celebrities driving hybrids and eating tofu while shopping at health food stores. Though these caricatures are unfair, the perception persists, limiting the movement's political power.
California's Proposition 87 defeat demonstrates this challenge. Despite strong initial polling and $40 million in backing from Silicon Valley and Hollywood, this clean-energy ballot measure failed when oil companies spent $100 million convincing voters it would hurt poor consumers. The eco-elite cannot win alone-the movement must embrace eco-populism that foregrounds solutions improving ordinary people's standard of living while decreasing their costs.
Building a truly inclusive environmental movement means bridging deep divides. Affluent white progressives passionate about the environment often don't work with people of color in their own communities, while many communities of color resist coalition with white-led organizations due to fear of betrayal or resentment of white arrogance. This racial segregation of social movements creates a moral tragedy and barrier to progress.
Through bridging these divides, I've observed that leaders from impoverished areas focus on social justice, political solutions and social change, while leaders from affluent areas emphasize ecology, business solutions and inner change. We need a hybrid movement that combines both approaches-one that operates at the intersection of social justice and ecology, entrepreneurship and activism, inner change and social change.
To engage racial justice activists in environmental work, I've developed the metaphor "Amistad meets the Titanic." Traditional racial justice activism resembles the slave revolt in Amistad-the oppressed rising up against oppressors. But what if those rebels realized they were actually on the Titanic? Their mission would expand from liberating captives to saving the entire ship, as everyone aboard faces the same ultimate fate.
Environmental rhetoric often emphasizes crisis, which motivates those with privilege but alienates those already living in personal crisis. People struggling daily often respond to climate warnings with fatalistic resignation. However, when presented with economic opportunities in the green economy, these same communities become engaged. Eco-populist slogans like "Green the Ghetto," "Green-Collar Jobs for All," and especially "Green Jobs, Not Jails" resonate powerfully by addressing economic, criminal, and environmental justice simultaneously.
Capítulo 5
Green-Collar Jobs: The Heart of the Solution
Green-collar jobs represent quality employment that helps the planet while providing family wages and advancement opportunities. Unlike "solar sweatshops," these middle-skill jobs require more than high-school education but less than a four-year degree, making them accessible to lower-skilled workers with proper training.
The green economy creates both new positions (like renewable-energy technicians) and transforms existing roles (like mechanics who can fix electric engines). Many green jobs are difficult to outsource since they involve transforming local buildings and infrastructure. This presents opportunities to reclaim both urban and rural communities through investments in transit, energy audits, windmills, and biomass operations.
The green economy should reclaim not just thrown-away materials but thrown-away communities, offering second chances to formerly incarcerated people and urban youth. America's transition away from oil dependence provides an opportunity to simultaneously break up with poverty and discrimination. We can connect people who most need work with work that most needs doing, fighting pollution and poverty together.
Leaders in far-flung and unlikely places are already creating this inclusive, ecologically responsible economy without waiting for federal action. These pioneers are implementing innovative projects across five major subsystems of sustainability: energy, food, waste, water, and transportation.
In Los Angeles, SCOPE and the local Apollo Alliance are implementing retrofits for city buildings that will save $10 million annually while creating career paths from entry-level positions to advanced skilled trades earning up to $50/hour. Meanwhile, Milwaukee's innovative Me2 program allows residents to retrofit buildings with no upfront costs, paying through reduced utility bills over time.
Native American reservations hold tremendous wind potential-twelve Dakota reservations alone could meet 41% of U.S. energy demand. For tribes suffering from poverty and unemployment while their lands are exploited for fossil fuels, wind offers a cleaner alternative. In Pennsylvania, Spanish wind company Gamesa repurposed a former U.S. Steel plant, employing former steelworkers who now proudly build clean energy components.
In crime and pollution-plagued Richmond, California, Solar Richmond is partnering with government agencies and nonprofits to create 100 family-supporting solar jobs and install 5 megawatts of solar energy. The program trains local residents through RichmondBUILD and installs panels for low-income homeowners through innovative financing.
Urban agriculture initiatives are transforming food systems while creating jobs. LaDonna Redmond in Chicago and Brahm Ahmadi in Oakland represent this growing movement. After discovering she couldn't find affordable organic food in her West Chicago neighborhood, Redmond created the Institute for Community Resource Development, which transforms empty lots into gardens, manages farmers markets, and provides nutritional education. In Chicago's 80,000 vacant lots, experts estimate 40-50% of the city's food could be grown, potentially creating 42,000 full-time jobs.
Capítulo 6
Principles for an Inclusive Green Economy
Any movement seeking transformative change must be founded on enduring principles. Just as American settlers rallied behind "No taxation without representation" to break free from colonialism, the green movement needs guiding ideals that can inspire ordinary people to action.
First, we must ensure equal protection for all. In an ecological crisis, those without money and status are always hit first and worst. When floods rise or droughts parch, the marginalized cannot afford to escape harm's way or rebuild afterward. For decades, America moved away from collective solutions, embracing individualism instead. Hurricane Katrina exposed this folly when New Orleans drowned and government failed to respond, leaving the poor, black, and disabled to "sink or swim." In an age of climate chaos, we must reject this philosophy and embrace instead: "We are all in this together-come what may."
Second, we must guarantee equal opportunity for all to benefit from the green economy's bounty. With each new green enterprise, leaders must ask: How can we make this effort inclusive and empowering to those disrespected in the old economy? If Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights activists risked their lives to integrate a pollution-based economy, how much more compelling is our calling to build an inclusive green one?
Third, we must cultivate reverence for all creation. The environmental movement has wisely taught us the value of nonhuman life and the natural world-that we don't have throwaway species or resources. But we must go further: we don't have throwaway children, neighborhoods, or nations either. The green economy must reclaim thrown-away lives and places, along with thrown-away values that recognize our sacred obligations to each other.
America represents just 4% of the world's population but produces 25% of greenhouse gases and imprisons 25% of the world's prisoners-a testament to treating both planet and people as disposable. We must stand in defense of all children of all species, including our own. Beyond mere self-preservation, we must recognize creation's independent value. We cannot reduce Earth's value to dollars on spreadsheets. We must humbly embrace indigenous wisdom: "We don't inherit the Earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children."
Capítulo 7
The Green New Deal: Government as Partner
To birth a just and green economy, we need government to act as an effective midwife, supported by a powerful political movement grounded in sound principles. During the Great Depression, FDR used government power to help people, stimulate the economy, and restore the environment, creating a new balance between government, business, and civil society.
Today's ecological, social, and economic crises demand equally bold action. We need more than temporary tax credits or haphazard job programs-we need a comprehensive suite of intelligently coordinated policies to accelerate a market-led transition to a cleaner, greener, more just economy. This "New Deal 2.0" requires a smarter role for government-not as nanny or bully, but as a supportive partner to innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, and community leaders addressing world-class challenges.
Currently, government favors problem makers-war makers, polluters, and incarcerators-with billions in subsidies while renewable sectors get pennies. By becoming a partner to problem solvers instead, we can move from our present raw deal to a Green New Deal.
The next U.S. president must break from past environmental failures by embracing the 1Sky agenda: creating five million green jobs while conserving 20% of energy by 2015, cutting emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 (80% by 2050), and banning new coal plants that emit global-warming pollution. The administration should pursue three simultaneous policy tracks: executive branch leadership across all federal agencies, congressional legislation including cap-and-trade, and diplomatic efforts to reclaim U.S. climate leadership globally.
The legislative agenda must start with cap-and-trade legislation that auctions emissions permits worth $50-300 billion annually by 2020, investing proceeds in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Equally crucial is establishing a national smart grid-an "Internet for energy" that allows decentralized power production, reduces waste, and creates thousands of jobs while making our energy infrastructure more resilient.
While federal leadership is essential, local and state governments play crucial roles in creating a sustainable future. Chicago, under Mayor Richard M. Daley, has become an unexpected environmental leader. The city set an 80% emissions reduction goal by 2050 after climate scientists predicted a Houston-like climate by 2095. Chicago's approach builds the economy from multiple angles, stimulating both supply and demand. The city attracted a solar panel manufacturer by committing to purchase $5 million of panels, creating jobs for local residents including ex-offenders.
Cities should retrofit existing buildings and require new construction to meet top LEED standards. The COWS-Milwaukee model (Milwaukee Energy Efficiency or Me2) offers an innovative solution where property owners receive energy audits identifying conservation measures that can be paid for through utility bill savings. This creates approximately 13 job-years in installation/construction and 4 job-years in manufacturing for every $1 million invested.
Capítulo 8
Local Solutions Leading the Way
While waiting for national leadership, communities across America are creating innovative local solutions to environmental and economic challenges.
Green assessment districts allow neighborhoods to collectively finance home improvements like weatherization and solar panels. Residents who opt in pay a small assessment on their property tax bills. The city bundles these commitments to secure low-interest loans for mass improvements. The obligation attaches to the property itself rather than the owner, spreading costs over multiple owners while energy savings offset the yearly assessment. Berkeley is pioneering this approach, which creates demand for green technology and installation labor without forcing participation.
Cities should establish targets for locally-grown food (reducing carbon from transportation), zero waste (declaring nothing can be thrown away), and renewable energy usage through Renewable Portfolio Standards. These initiatives create jobs in local agriculture, recycling/reuse industries, and renewable energy while addressing environmental challenges.
With two-thirds of the world's population projected to live in urban centers by 2030, cities must combat sprawl through "transit-oriented development"-creating walkable, self-sustaining, mixed-use urban villages. This requires commitments to infill development (clustering within city limits) and high-density building (expanding upward, not outward).
Despite the 10-20% return on investment from building retrofits, lack of up-front capital prevents implementation. A federal revolving loan fund could provide low-interest financing for energy-efficiency projects in buildings across sectors. This would complement existing mechanisms like energy savings performance contracts, helping resource-strapped municipalities pursue retrofits.
Federal loan guarantees can make capital cheaper for clean energy businesses by reducing interest rates and driving private investment. While the Department of Energy has a $38.5 billion "clean energy" loan program, it primarily targets nuclear and fossil-fuel industries and should be redirected to truly renewable energy.
Rather than finding new funding, governments can attach "green strings" to the billions in economic development incentives they already provide. Requiring subsidy recipients to meet environmental standards would immediately green local economies. Job standards can also ensure these opportunities reach those who need them most.
Capítulo 9
From Vision to Reality: Building a Movement of Hope
We face an unprecedented challenge requiring complete overhaul of our political and economic systems-one of history's greatest transformations. Even if our movement fails to avert disaster, building a Green Growth Alliance and Green New Deal will establish valuable knowledge and relationships that can help us navigate even worst-case scenarios.
Rather than being paralyzed by the possibility of eco-apocalypse, we should be motivated by it. Many of the best people and ideas haven't yet emerged, and as the green movement grows, it will generate unprecedented innovation and passion. With the technology we carry daily, our capacities exceed what put humans on the moon.
The coming crises demand collective action supported by effective government, requiring a new concept of leadership. We need thousands of heroes at every level of society-ordinary people becoming giants of the new century. By uniting our strength, we can create solution centers in every neighborhood, transform our cities into green-collar meccas, and lead the world not in war or pollution, but in human rights, social justice, and sustainable job creation.
In just one year since proposing this book in late 2007, the term "green-collar job" exploded into political consciousness. The Democratic Party's top presidential candidates all called for green-collar jobs, community colleges began offering training programs, and mayors nationwide proclaimed their commitment to green opportunities.
Yet despite this apparent victory, the battle has just begun. The convergence of Hurricane Katrina, Al Gore's advocacy, economic recession, and rising energy prices has moved environmental challenges to the center of politics, but also created opportunities for opponents of change. These opponents have launched a counter-offensive with three powerful slogans: "All of the Above," "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less," and "Stop the War on the Poor."
While we've won the argument for change, we haven't secured enough public support to implement necessary solutions. The coming debate will focus on energy prices, economic benefits, and planetary health-with clean energy advocates needing to deliver on the promise of a green economy that provides work, wealth and health for all families.
Like the "greatest generation" that defeated fascism and the civil rights generation that fought segregation, we must win a better future for generations to come. By connecting environmental solutions to economic opportunity and social justice, we can build a movement powerful enough to transform our economy and heal our planet.
Capítulo 10
The Path Forward: Practical Steps to a Green Economy
America has always prospered when investing in technological leadership, from rural electrification to transportation networks to telecommunications. The clean-tech revolution and transformation of our energy infrastructure can become the next great engine for innovation, productivity, job growth and social equity.
With smart policies, climate solutions can drive hundreds of billions in productive investments while positioning America to lead the global carbon-cutting revolution. This requires a new approach to leadership-one that moves beyond confrontation to creation, beyond accusation to confession, beyond demands to shared goals.
The old activist mindset of David confronting Goliath has a shadow side, requiring the protagonist to remain small and marginalized while defining success through confrontation. With environmental and financial crises looming, perhaps Noah offers a better model-a leader preparing for a difficult future while saving as many people and species as possible.
This approach focuses on creating something new rather than merely confronting the old. It means moving beyond problem-focused activism to solution-oriented work, formulating shared objectives rather than adversarial demands, seeking allies rather than enemies, acknowledging our own participation in problematic systems, and reclaiming authentic love of country while working toward its improvement.
By embracing these principles and building broad coalitions across traditional divides, we can create an economy that works for everyone while healing our planet. The green-collar economy isn't just about saving polar bears or creating jobs-it's about reimagining our relationship with each other and with the Earth itself, creating a society where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from ecological solutions.
The path forward isn't easy, but it's necessary. And with each solar panel installed, each building retrofitted, each community garden planted, we move one step closer to the just and sustainable world we all deserve.
