Green Jobs Day of Action (9/27/08)

On Saturday, September 27, 2008 Apollo Alliance and Green For All presented the Green Jobs Now National Day of Action.

Green for All and the We Campaign are joining with tens of thousands of Americans for Green Jobs Now: A Day to Build the New Economy. People of all backgrounds are organizing Green Jobs Now events, with a special focus on low-income communities and communities of color. Whether it’s an intimate house party or a giant rally, your event can keep the pressure on our leaders to build a new, clean economy that begins to heal the planet and ensures prosperity for all.

In support, Green Collar Technologies had its National Day of Action to encourage green collar jobs and technologies on Hawai‘i Island. It was held at the Hawai‘i Innovation Center in downtown Hilo and offered free courses in sustainability and google applications, as well as guest speeches from individuals and companies supporting the new type of economy. Everyone, green collar or non-green collar affiliated, was invited to celebrate the day that was set aside to work and learn about all green topics of interest.

Green Collar Jobs

What exactly is a "Green Collar" job? In honesty, there is no standard definition, but in general a green collar job is one that satisfies the demand for sustainable development by applying environmentally conscious design, policy and technology in hopes to improve sustainability and conservation. It's a concept that strives to conserve the environment, reduce mankind's ecological footprint, and create an entirely new branch of employment. What doesn't sound great about this idea?

An organization at the front line of this movement is Green For All. Their main vision is to shift to clean energy economy to improve the health and well-being of low-income people who suffer disproportionately from cancer, asthma and other respiratory ailments in the dirty-energy economy. Another aspect is also to create entrepreneurial, wealth-building opportunities for those who need new avenues of economic advance. This organization was founded by Van Jones who is the public face of this organization and the Special Advisor for Green Jobs to the White House. Check out the website at: www.greenforall.org. There lots of information on their mission, their current position in the green movement, images, videos, resources, and ways you can get involved!