Produced by:
KBOO
Program::
Air date:
Mon, 12/07/2015 - 11:00am to 12:00pm
Van Jones on Facing the Facts, Standing in the Truth and Working for Environmental & Social Change
Van Jones spoke at Portland State University on October 28th as part of Portland State of Mind and a kick off to Social Sustainability Month.
Van Jones is an attorney, civil rights activist, and environmental advocate. He was a civil rights activist in California before extending his efforts to environmental and energy issues. He became an advocate for a green economy, viewing so-called green jobs as a tangible method to escape poverty and link social, economic, and environmental sustainability. His work caught the attention of President Barack Obama who in early 2009 appointed Jones to be the Special Advisor for Green Jobs for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Only six months later, though, Jones was pushed to resign amidst a controversy surrounding a political position Jones had taken prior to his appointment.
After the success of his first book, The Green Collar Economy, published in 2008, conservative forces chose Jones as their lightning rod and much potential for good on a national environmental policy level was lost. Since then, Jones has continued to publish, deliver TED Talks, manage NGOs, and advocate for the environment and social justice all across the country.
Jones has worked with such groups as the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Center for American Progress, Green For All, and MoveOn.Org. In 2008, Time Magazine called Jones an “Environmental Hero” and he has won many other environmental and civil rights accolades too numerous to list here. His multiple TED Talks including “The Economic Injustice of Plastic” attest to someone who is committed to environmental justice and who will not disassociate those efforts from their connection to social justice.
In 2012, Jones published his second New York Times bestselling book, Rebuild the Dream, which has evolved into a 21st century "think tank" that champions innovative solutions to fix the U.S. economy and uplift the next generation. He has been continuing to speak out on mass incarceration and recently helped launch the #Cut50 Initiative to reduce our incarcerated population by 50 percent over the next 10 years.
Van Jones is an attorney, civil rights activist, and environmental advocate. He was a civil rights activist in California before extending his efforts to environmental and energy issues. He became an advocate for a green economy, viewing so-called green jobs as a tangible method to escape poverty and link social, economic, and environmental sustainability. His work caught the attention of President Barack Obama who in early 2009 appointed Jones to be the Special Advisor for Green Jobs for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Only six months later, though, Jones was pushed to resign amidst a controversy surrounding a political position Jones had taken prior to his appointment.
After the success of his first book, The Green Collar Economy, published in 2008, conservative forces chose Jones as their lightning rod and much potential for good on a national environmental policy level was lost. Since then, Jones has continued to publish, deliver TED Talks, manage NGOs, and advocate for the environment and social justice all across the country.
Jones has worked with such groups as the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Center for American Progress, Green For All, and MoveOn.Org. In 2008, Time Magazine called Jones an “Environmental Hero” and he has won many other environmental and civil rights accolades too numerous to list here. His multiple TED Talks including “The Economic Injustice of Plastic” attest to someone who is committed to environmental justice and who will not disassociate those efforts from their connection to social justice.
In 2012, Jones published his second New York Times bestselling book, Rebuild the Dream, which has evolved into a 21st century "think tank" that champions innovative solutions to fix the U.S. economy and uplift the next generation. He has been continuing to speak out on mass incarceration and recently helped launch the #Cut50 Initiative to reduce our incarcerated population by 50 percent over the next 10 years.