This morning I attended the Texas Energy Future: Green Jobs and Clean Power keynote address by famed author of The Green Collar Economy Van Jones.

Van made a funny remark about how a lot of people view the green economy as some kind of Jetsons inspired science fiction future where we will have solar powered ray guns beaming energy to earth. His point was it’s not about the solar ray gun, but the caulk gun. I’m sure many of you have noticed that a number of measures contained in the national stimulus package are about the unsexy side of the rising green economy: energy conservation. It’s no secret that Van and his team from Green for All have been integral to the inclusion of these measures. In fact Van left the conference in a hurry so he could get back to Washington and continue working on this monumental piece of legislation.  

The introduction by Rodney Ellis framed precisely where Texas stands to benefit from Van’s ideas. We are leaders in wind but lag in solar. I know Brewster McCracken and the Pecan Street Project are aiming to bridge that gap. But the real payoff for Texan’s will be the jobs created. Not just for wind turbine and solar cell production and installation, but for good old fashioned weatherization and energy conservation. Jobs that can help real Americans out of poverty while creating a more eco relevant future. This is the kind of environmental and social initiative that all of us can support regardless of our political leanings.

Let’s all do our part and support these initiatives to propel America into a leadership position once again!