Van Jones, an environmentalist and social activist based in Oakland, is trying to bridge the gap between eco-causes and inner city poverty. His goal is to make environmentalism not just the popular cause of the moment, but a positive force for low-income families, and the economy as a whole. Jones, cofounder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and colorofchange.org, sees an intrinsic link between a sustainable green economy and reversing the plight of the lower class. In the March 2008 edition of The Sun Magazine, Jones spoke about what steps he is taking to achieve these goals.

Having spent time on the firing lines of civil rights activism as well as with the bluebloods at Yale Law, Jones sees both sides of what he calls eco-apartheid.

This is what divides the people of the world into those that have the time and money such that the idea of energy independence is exciting by itself, and those that still are waiting for the opportunity to get ahead in life. As Jones admits,

For the sustainable economy to be successful, it has to be a full-participation economy. Right now it is a niche economy, a lifestyle economy It is easy for the eco-elites in Massachusetts or northern California to wrap themselves in the trappings of sustainability and think that the problem has been solved, but the people who clean their houses are going back to neighborhoods that may be fifty years in the past in terms of their ecological sustainability.

Jones points out that it is a very small portion of the population that can afford the hybrid or the organic produce. Everyone in the bottom economic strata can’t be bothered with what might be considered far beyond their scope of concern. Again, Jones states,

A lot of wealthy, educated people wanted to take action as a result of Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth, but most low-income people and people of color I know had no interest. They already have enough problems. They don’t need new crises to worry about. So if you have a house and a car and a college degree, then, yes, you should hear about global warming, or peak oil, or dying species. But poor and low-income people need to hear about opportunities. They need to hear about the wealth and health benefits of moving to a sustainable economy. Otherwise you are just telling people who are already having a bad day that they should have a worse one.

and learn more about what Jones is doing at Green For All.

You can also read about him in GOOD Magazine.

And watch the clip below of him discussing the benefits of green collar jobs.