Big business has finally realized that there's lots of money to be made in the transition to a clean-energy economy. Van Jones wants to make sure working-class and minority Americans realize it too. Van Jones. Jones, a civil-rights lawyer, is founder and executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, an innovative nonprofit that made its name working to prevent youth violence and incarceration. In 2005, the center unveiled an initiative that would put it at the cutting edge of progressive activism: Reclaim the Future, a program aimed at ensuring that low-income and minority youth have access to …

U.S. investors worth $4 trillion beg feds for climate action For a long time now, the Bush administration has said it can't possibly take action on climate change because it will harm the economy. Now the economy is all like, "Hurt me, baby, please." Yet another business-oriented coalition -- this one including investors who manage a combined $4 trillion -- is begging the U.S. to curb greenhouse-gas emissions and create a market-based emissions trading system. A letter aimed at Bush and signed by 65 parties -- including companies like Alcoa, BP America, and Sun Microsystems, as well as big-league money …

Quick, name a historic moment from 1987. I'll wait. Well, yeeessss, that was the year that gave us timeless songs like "I Want Your Sex," "Shake Your Love," and with a somewhat different message, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" (by the immortal Georgia Satellites). They just don't write songs like those anymore. Or let's hope not anyway. I was thinking of something even more historic, however. That's right, it's been 20 years since the publication of Our Common Future -- the influential study from the U.N. World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future argued that "... the economic, …

TXU buyers announce plans for two coal-gasification plants The private firms that proposed a $45 billion buyout of Texas coal giant TXU continue to make some hearts go pitter-pat. After announcing that TXU would scuttle plans for all but three new coal-fired power plants, the firms added Friday that they would look into building two coal gasification plants -- facilities that use a chemical process to gasify coal and can then capture and store carbon dioxide. Ooh, "clean coal"! Progressive thinking! Right? Well, those keeping score at home might notice that the news turns three coal plants into ... five. …

Is King Coal about to be deposed? Climate scientists, key members of Congress, enviros, and the progressive wing of the business world are plotting a coup d'état. Regime change isn't likely to come soon, but this resistance movement could significantly alter the way the pollution-spewing sovereign wields its power. James Hansen. Photo: Arnold Adle/NASA The ringleader of this uprising is James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the world's top climate scientists. Last week he threw down the gauntlet: "There should be a moratorium on building any more coal-fired power plants," Hansen told the …

Restaurant biz hops onto the green bandwagon Green ain't just the color of the broccoli anymore in the restaurant biz. And a good thing too: the average restaurant generates 50,000 pounds of waste (half of it food) and uses 300,000 gallons of water every year. Enter the Green Restaurant Association, which provides environmental assessments and "certifies" restaurants for using eco-friendly measures like efficient light bulbs, unbleached napkins, and Styrofoam alternatives. But only a tiny percentage of the nation's 1 million restaurants have gone the GRA way; sustainability in the $500 billion U.S. restaurant industry -- which is larger than many …

U.N. launches global partnership to combat unhealthy e-waste habits Faced with an annual global gadget toss approaching 40 million tons, the United Nations has launched a partnership to battle the world's heaps of e-waste and the environmental and health problems caused by impromptu e-recycling. Solving the E-Waste Problem, or StEP -- which counts governments, universities, and 16 companies including Dell and Hewlett-Packard among its members -- will aim to create a global electronics recycling standard and encourage companies to make longer-lasting products. With 80 percent of e-waste ending up in developing countries and often recycled by untrained, unprotected citizens, exposure …

Vermont angling to become the green version of Silicon Valley Vermont, which has long tussled with Maine to avoid the tag of "whitest state in the nation," is going in search of some color -- green, that is. Lending depth to its nickname, the Green Mountain State is luring eco-engineers to its verdant flanks and helping established green companies expand. Noting that the state boasts "clean air, no billboards," Gov. Jim Douglas (R) says he hopes green-tech will be to Vermont what high-tech is to Silicon Valley: "We wanted to find a niche, an economic sector in which Vermont can …

Bank of America announces $20 billion green initiative In perhaps the largest initiative of its kind evah, Bank of America has announced a $20 billion investment in being all green and stuff over the next decade. The largest U.S. retail bank will use most of the moola to finance green-focused commercial clients, while also offering lower mortgage rates on energy-efficient homes, starting a credit-card program that directs bling to greenhouse-gas reduction projects, and donating to green nonprofits (ooh, over here!). The bank already offers rebates to hybrid-driving employees and is building energy-efficient offices in New York City and Charlotte, N.C. …

Not long ago, I became a Bank of America customer, with mixed emotions. You know, the faceless corporation, the rumors of unethical practices, the exhaustion of trying to figure out where their (and my) money truly goes. Ultimately, I gave in to inertia and convenience. So I'm happy to hear that BOA is launching a 10-year, $20 billion green initiative to support sustainable business and fight climate change. If it's greenwashing, at least it's $20 billion worth of greenwashing. Here are the details, according to the press release: $18 billion in lending, advice, and market creation for commercial clients, with …