psd's flickr photostream/Creative Commons

We’ve spoken a couple times on this site about Van Jones, who is the forefront of the green collar revolution, which is the idea we can solve both environmental problems and inner-city poverty with a green job corps. His ideas are at the same time ambitious, just, and wholly practical. And it looks like the Obama administration has taken notice.

Van Jones is joining the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) as a special advisor for green jobs. Announced by CEQ chair Nancy Sutley on Monday, it looks like the administration is hoping for Jones to keep doing exactly what he has been doing.

“Van Jones has been a strong voice for green jobs and we look forward to having him work with departments and agencies to advance the President’s agenda of creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources,” Sutley said. “Jones will also help to shape and advance the administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communities,” she said. [Environmental News Service]

That “climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulerable communities” is really what’s right in Jones’ wheelhouse, so it’s great that the administration has made specific mention of that when introducing him. For his part, Jones did not soften his message in his introductory remarks.

“It’s time the African American community had a part in the discussion on climate change,” said Jones at the launch. “We’re not going to solve global warming just with expensive consumer choices like buying hybrid cars and shopping for organic food. People need to realize that you don’t have to be white or wealthy to benefit from going green.”

I’m very excited about all this. You can takepart with Green For All, the organization Jones founded, and is now leaving in the hands of “Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, who is presently the head of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council and Working Partnerships USA.” I think that sounds pretty good.