EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH VAN JONES :: BEYOND THE POLITICS OF CONFRONTATION :: WHY I'M GOING TO WASHINGTON

Van Jones: Why I’m Going to Washington

When YES! contributing editor Van Jones was in Seattle last November, Sarah van Gelder asked him if he was planning to join the Obama administration. Van laughed and said no, he planned to stay on the outside and to be part of building an independent movement for change. That interview is in the Spring issue of YES!

So we were surprised when rumors surfaced over the weekend that Van was on his way to Washington, D.C. The rumors were true. Van has accepted an appointment as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Van carved out time for a follow-up interview with YES! on Tuesday morning. As he says in the interview, "YES! Magazine has played a huge role in my life. I just wanted to make sure that you had the information that you needed to be current and fair to your readers."

Read here what Van Jones has to say about why he went from "No, I won't be in the Obama administration" to "Yes, I can."

Enjoy,

Doug Pibel,
Managing Editor, YES! Magazine

:: READ AN EXCERPT FROM VAN'S BOOK

A Phoenix from the Ashes
On the morning of Nov 2, 2004, the hopes of many progressives were in tatters with the re-election of George Bush. Van Jones wrote in YES! about the moment: His reflections on the "indescribably beautiful, vibrant, and diverse people's movement" helped raise hopes again…

"This essay was one of my first commentaries on national politics. I'd always focused on local stuff. And that actually started, in some ways, this whole journey toward my having a more national role."

Stories from the Green Collar Economy
All across the country, ordinary Americans are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work, building a green collar economy strong enough to lift us out of environmental and economic disaster. Watch this video on the work of Greencorps Chicago.

Green-Collar Jobs for Urban America
See how the Green Jobs model works in practice. Van Jones and Ben Wyksida write about Oakland's greener path toward greener prosperity.


Teaching Tools on the Green Economy
Explore the themes of the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign, including the green economy, eco-equity and eco-privilege, model cities, and restorative justice.

WATCH Van Jones talk about eco-equity