Green For All Blog
Welcome to the Green For All blog!
A victory for the people of Washington State: Landmark legislation passes
On “lobby day” at the Washington State legislature, busloads of young men from inner city Seattle, church congregations from Spokane, electrical workers, plumbers, community organizers and elderly women from modest neighborhoods across the state poured into Olympia. They all came for one reason - to press their legislators for a green jobs and energy efficiency bill that would put people to work weatherizing tens of thousands of homes across Washington State. These ordinary-folk lobbyists prevailed.
Denver green jobs meeting with Green For All aids local efforts
When the Colorado Environmental Coalition (CEC) heard the rumblings of the green jobs movement beginning in the Denver area, they called on Green For All to facilitate a roundtable discussion on opportunities in Colorado. The meeting was hosted by the Green Jobs Interfaith Coalition (GJIC), a Denver "eco-justice" group that was inspired by Green For All.
Catch up with Van Jones: Video chat with the Special Advisor on Green Jobs
Special Advisor for Green Jobs to the White House and Green for All founder Van Jones hosted a live chat on June 24th regarding the emerging green economy. From finding green jobs to funding green projects to figuring out what a Special Advisor for Green Jobs does exactly, Van Jones covered it all. Check it out and see what you missed!
Jack and Jill Politics tells story of Green For All and equity provisions in ACES
Our friend Cheryl Contee over at JackandJillPolitics.com just posted a great story of how Green For All, our partners, and our supporters successfully pushed to have two key equity provisions included in the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
ACES passes House! Giant leap towards green economy for all!
The House of Representatives just passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act! This historic bill promises to significantly transform our economy for the better. ACES will transition the United States to clean energy, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and revitalize American industry.
1,000 calls in 48 hours paid off! Equity in ACES!
We now have a small window of opportunity to help pass ACES. The
House of Representatives will vote today, and many members are still on
the fence. Call now.
The critical equity improvements to the bill simply would not have
happened without your support. In the past 48 hours alone, Green For
All supporters have made close to 1000 phone calls to their
Representatives.
Thank you for speaking up for opportunity and investment in our communities!
Now, the bill provides opportunity for low-income communities and
communities of color. Now, there are protections in the bill that
ensure that working families don't bear the cost for big polluters.
Now, there is significant funding for green job training programs that
build pathways out of poverty. And now, these good jobs will be
accessible to low-income and local workers.
Now, we can support the American Clean Energy and Security Act as truly green for all.
Tell your Representative to pass ACES. Call now!
"Vote yes on the American Clean Energy and Security Act."
NOTE: Congress is being flooded with calls. Please keep trying if you don't get through the first time.
You all have fought hard to get us this far, help us get across the finish line today.
Yesterday, President Obama called on the House of Representatives to
pass ACES, saying "I can't stress enough the importance of this vote. I
know this is going to be a close vote. But my call to those members of
Congress who are still on the fence, as well as to the American people,
is this… now is the time to finally act."
Let's act today. And let's make history.
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Chief Executive Officer
Green For All
Climate and economy no longer at odds: New study finds Miami to have over 25,000 new jobs with green investments
A pair of new studies prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (PERI) with the Center for American Progress (CAP), Green For All, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), show that Miami, among other major cities, would benefit greatly from broad investment in green technology by the public and private sectors. Moreover, the research suggests that low-income communities would do very well under such an investment – nearly half of the jobs created would be accessible to individuals with little formal education.
$500 million for green jobs training - Grant guidelines released!
Today, the Department of Labor (DOL) released grant guidelines for $500 million in green jobs training, including $150 million for "Pathways out of Poverty" grants! This is the money Green For All and our supporters fought hard to have included in the Recovery Act that Congress passed in February.
Call Congress Now - Critical vote this week!
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Civil rights groups send letter to Waxman and Markey: Opportunity for all in ACES!
Dear Chairmen Waxman and Markey:
We commend you on the effort you have undertaken in crafting the American Clean Energy & Security Act (ACES) of 2009. We hope that you will include in the ACES manager's amendments language that will allocate some emission allowances in ACES to train workers in renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and that will make construction jobs under ACES available to all segments of the community.
As you recognize, climate change is not simply an issue of environmental policy. It is also one of the most important civil rights issues of our time. Unchecked, the impacts of global warming will be costly for everyone, but they will hit low-income people and people of color first and worst.
At the same time, the shift to a green economy has the potential to create large numbers of quality green-collar jobs for American workers and to ensure that those who most need work are prepared to do the work that most needs to be done.
Toward that end, we ask you to include in the ACES more concrete opportunities for the people in the communities we represent to gain pathways into prosperity in the clean energy economy.
Simply creating jobs is not enough for low-income workers, who too often are people of color. They need to acquire the skills, and the connections to unions and employers, to access and succeed in those jobs. This requires investments in workforce education to prepare workers for jobs and careers in the clean energy economy. It also requires that clean energy investments be tied to strategies that maximize opportunities for local workers and under-represented populations.
The following are goals that the ACES can realize with two key improvements:
1. Provide Green Pathways out of Poverty: Beyond the assistance it rightly provides to workers dislocated from carbon-intensive industries, ACES allocates no resources to train the vast majority of workers in this country who need new skills for the jobs that will repower and rebuild this nation. Without real pathways out of poverty, the legislation will fall well short of its economic and equity promise. Accordingly, we ask that you allocate some emission allowances in ACES to the Green Jobs Act, which trains workers for family-sustaining jobs in renewable energy and energy efficiency industries.
2. Improve Access to Good Jobs: A number of tools designed to achieve "community benefits" have been field-tested with great success on local development projects around the country. Congressman Bobby Rush has authored a provision, which we believe must be included in the legislation, ensuring that the construction jobs created by ACES are good jobs that are accessible to all segments of the community.
We have an opportunity with this legislation to lay the foundation for a clean energy economy that will also improve the lives of low-income Americans. Please ensure that this foundation contains access to jobs and pathways out of poverty. If you have any questions, please contact Paul Edenfield, LCCR Senior Counsel, at 202-263-2852.
Sincerely,
Wade Henderson
President & CEO
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Deepak Bhargava
Executive Director
Center for Community Change
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Chief Executive Officer
Green For All
Hilary O. Shelton
Director
NAACP Washington Bureau
Stephanie Jones
Senior Vice President for Advocacy / Executive Director
National Urban League Policy Institute
Kim Bobo
Executive Director
Interfaith Worker Justice
Jorge Mursuli
National Executive Director
Democracia USA
