I attended a speech by Anthony “Van” Jones, who was President Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs for brief period in 2009. Van Jones, as he’s better known, was in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2009.
His vision is a greener and a more economically sound America. He sees green-collared jobs as an untapped reserve from which hundreds of thousands of jobs can be created by retrofitting buildings, building green power plants (solar, hydro, or wind), and by creating new research and development teams. Since Van Jones is also a civil rights activist, he values the low skilled jobs created as equally as important as the environmental benefits. He sees these jobs as a way to keep people out of the jails and stimulate the economy. He also said that the U.S. is far behind many other countries and has much catching up to do. He placed the burden on today’s generation of students, saying that his generation “failed” to make any progress in energy. And, he argued that it would be entrepreneurship, not government, that would head the charge. Government just needs to provide the proper grounds for the green economy to grow, he advises.
I thought Van Jones was one of the best speakers I had ever seen, but at the same time, I recognized his background. He was Yale Law School graduate, who knew the right buttons to push. He also treaded very softly when forced to pick a side. In essence, he talked like a politician. Regardless of how he said it, I still believe his message is urgent. But, I believe his plan will take entirely too long. His vision that American energy companies will grow in a green-friendly business environment is true. But aren’t there already enough incentives and grants going out to these companies? It is taking too long! It is my belief that the government, not business, will get us out of this carbon addiction; it will get us out of this mess like it did when a space shuttle (also publicly funded) got us out the gradational pull of the earth and landed on the moon. As he said, we are already far behind other countries. Do we really want to risk falling behind even more? Corporations are known for taking nibbles before bites. Government has the resources and no investor or bottom line to attend to. It can act unilaterally and with great impact, not the slow and sometimes backwards steps we have seen from corporations. To keep things even, it was business that built the skylines, not the government. Tell me what you think. Should government do the job or let others do it?
I agree with Van Jones in that his generation failed us. It is up to our generation and I'm fully prepared to take that challenge. Entrepreneurship is the answer for this problem. With all the partisan issues in the government today, it will be up to the private sector of entrepreneurs to act on this. I feel our generation, having grown up seeing the effects of what we do to our planet and how the green economy benefits us, is fully apt and ready to take this on. We, the students, are the first generation of this kind and it is a unique opportunity we need to take a hold of.
ReplyDeleteThose are both fine points. I never thought about the idea that government has its hands tied and can't do much anyway. It is also true that we are a different generation with a different set of ideals, but our generation is maybe the most materialistic, entitled, and lazy to ever walk this earth. I think the real strides will be made by countries like China, whose people now have the same drive that Americans once had.
ReplyDeleteIt's people like me and you, Clarke, that can change that stereotype. Also, we are young yet, give us a chance. I know we are materialistic and lazy, but we still have a lot to learn and mature from. With that, I'm not losing faith yet.
ReplyDeleteAfter writing my post and response for today, I was looking through the blog. I saw Adam's response to Clarke about entrepreneurship and it connects very well to a response I just wrote to Mariana's old post. I was saying the same thing about having the private sector take ownership of energy innovation. I would disagree with Clarke about the government having its hands tied. I would instead say that it is simply less efficient than the private sector. It is much easier for the private sector to declare an investment a failure and move on.
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