Introducing a new Friday slot, Green Icons will detail people who are at the forefront of change. Thumbs up to Brendan Phelan for this. Brendan will be contributing regularly on Edenbee so look out for his up and coming posts.
It's Friday so we thought we would send you away to the pubs / for the weekend with something interesting to talk to your mates about (and to argue over with complete strangers).
Van Jones is Edenbee's Green Icon of the Week for 2 very simple reasons. Not only is he an inspirational leader (and God knows the world needs them right now) but he also understands that environmentalism and social justice go hand in hand.
Even his mission statement gives us goose pimples:
"The chief moral obligation of the 21st Century is to build a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Those communities that were locked out of the last century's pollution-based economy must be locked into the new, clean and renewable economy." "Is a green economy only about reclaiming throwaway stuff, or is it also about reclaiming throwaway communities, throwaway people, throwaway children?"
Colin Beaven (a.k.a. No Impact Man – a future Green Icon in the making himself) describes him without hesitation as 'a modern American hero for his ability to articulate and promote the natural alliance between environmentalists and advocates for social justice.' 'Why should a single parent working two jobs care about greenhouse gases if there are far-more-immediate concerns at hand?'
It's a powerful message, no doubt. And it could very well be the way to turn the 'green revolution' we firmly believe is needed today into a 'people's revolution', not just in America, but worldwide.
Van the man is a busy little bee himself. He's the President of the Ella Baker Centre for Human Rights, he won the Reebok international rights award, he went to Yale Law School, he won the Rockefeller International Foundation Next Generation Leadership Award and has been referred by the World Economic Forum as one of the world's most important young global leaders.
The point being this man is not afraid to speak his mind, he speaks it eloquently, and he has something very important to say to all of us.
Van we salute you. Time to throw out that pathetic CV of mine once and for all.
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