Being Green Can Produce Jobs

With the US economy on the rocks or near to it, some look to the green business sector for hope. In the book Natural Capitalism (which I couldn't recommend more highly) Hunter and Amory Lovins and Paul Hawken argue--for one thing--that there's huge money to be made and limitless work available in the field of fixing the planet.

Here's a story from Time Magazine which makes the same point. Van Jones (pictured above) is promoting programs that "Give the work that most needs to be done to the people who most need the work." The article says his message is to "solve two pressing problems--pollution and poverty--at once."

Other pertinent ideas:

"For the environmental movement, embracing Jones' message means recasting global warming not just as an existential threat but as an enormous economic opportunity."

"A study by the Cleantech Network, which tracks green investment, found that for every $100 million in green venture capital, 250,000 new jobs could be created."

By my math, that's just $400 per job. Hmmm...

It's a short article. Go read it all.