Van Jones has been on a crusade to, in his words, "green the ghetto" by killing two birds with one stone: reducing poverty and saving the environment.
Recently appointed as President Obama's special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation, Jones now has an opportunity to implement his vision.
"I've been accused of being the green jobs czar — I consider myself to be the green jobs handyman," Jones tells NPR's Renee Montagne. "We've got about $40 billion in the recovery package that is targeted toward renewable energy, green-job training, energy efficiency, and part of my job is to help to coordinate getting all that money out into the economy, making jobs for people."
Jones, who is author of The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, describes green jobs as "a blue-collar job that's been upgraded or up-skilled to better respect the environment."
"So you think about an electrician who now knows how to deal with solar panels or a plumber who can deal with solar hot water," he explains. "You want to think about jobs that are good for an individual's wealth — in other words they pay well, but they're also good for the community and the planet's health."
Read the rest of the article, and link to the audio report HERE