Government-mandated and -subsidized ethanol from corn will go down in history as the "Iraq War" of environmental solutions: ill-considered, costly, and disastrous.
Van JonesRead
The surest path to safe streets and peaceful communities is not more police and prisons, but ecologically sounds economic development. And that same path can lift us to a new, green economy - one with the power to lift people out of poverty while respecting and repairing the environment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Economic development focused on ecological sustainability can create safer communities without relying solely on police and prisons.
Van Jones emphasizes that true safety and peace in communities are better achieved through thoughtful, sustainable economic development rather than through an increase in law enforcement and incarceration. By fostering an economy that respects the environment, not only can we foster safe streets, but we can also help lift individuals out of poverty, creating a more equitable and sustainable society.
Themes
SafetyEconomic DevelopmentEnvironmentCommunityPovertySustainability
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community development, one might use this quote to advocate for investments in green jobs.
More from Van Jones
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Will the new environmental leaders fight for eco-equity in this new "green economy" they are birthing?
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Our point of view is, lets not be so elitist that we can't honor good, hard, dignified, ennobling work: people working with their hands, building things, putting up solar panels, weatherizing homes, working on organic agriculture, building wind farms. We don't have robots in society, so somebody has to do that work. Lets make sure that the people who can use that work get a chance to do it. I see that as a first step toward bigger and better things.
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We pull out of the ground death, we burn death in our power plants, and then we act shocked when we get death in the form of oil spills and global warming.
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When you take the people who most need work and connect them with the work that most needs doing, you save. You save that young personβs life, you save a whole bunch of money, and you save the soul of this country when you invest and give people a chance, give people hope, give people opportunity.
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