This blog is by Camille Grant, Environmental and Climate Justice Fellow for the NAACP. They can also be found on Twitter or Facebook.

The emerging green economy is largely framed as centering on advancing energy efficiency and “clean” energy initiatives. As this new field expands, we, as black communities, must be in a position to steer focus and practices to ensure that new developments fully incorporate a civil and human rights lens. We must also view this as an opportunity to address economic inequities. Furthermore, we must make certain that our black communities are involved at every step of the green economy sector - from legislation to implementation in local communities.

The Bridging the Gap: Connecting Black Communities to the Green Economy event on April 15, 2013 is an NAACP hosted pre-conference being held in advance of the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference on April 16- April 18, 2013 at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Bridging the Gap is a full-day conference geared toward solution-focused discussions to advance justice based energy policies and practices with engagement and leadership from black communities.

This blog is by Jackie Ostfeld, Outdoors Policy Manager for the Sierra Club. The Sierra Clubs Mission Outdoors program can be found on Twitter @SierraClubMO and Jackie is @JackieOstfeld.

Think fast — which industry provides more jobs for America: the outdoor recreation economy or the oil and gas sector? Answer: the outdoor recreation economy, and by a huge margin.

An oft-overlooked economic driver, protecting and connecting people with the great outdoors supports 6.1 million jobs right here in America, according to the Outdoor Industry Association. In fact, in 2011 our National Parks alone generated $30.1 billion in economic activity, contributing 252,000 jobs to the American workforce. Outdoor recreation bankrolls more jobs than a host of economic behemoths like oil and gas (2.1 million jobs), information (2.5 million jobs), transportation and warehousing (4.3 million jobs) and construction (5.5 million jobs). Supporting these outdoor recreation jobs (not to mention the additional $80 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue that they generate) is consumer spending to the tune of $646 billion each year.

Unfortunately, we may not be adequately preparing the next generation of job seekers to participate in the outdoor economy, which has seen steady five percent growth since 2005. Today’s children are spending less time exploring and enjoying the great outdoors than their parents did just a generation ago. Young people are using most of their free time on increasingly sedentary and indoor activities. For instance, youth spend more than seven hours a day on electronic media. And it’s not their fault, they have nowhere to go. One in five kids cannot even access close-to-home outdoor spaces because they do not have safe parks or playgrounds nearby.

We are pleased to announce the BlueGreen Alliance Foundation is partnering with the United Steelworkers Tony Mazzochi Center for Health, Safety and Environmental Education to offer a set of skills building workshops at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference in Washington D.C. April 16-18 that will arm workers with knowledge they need to make safer and healthier workplaces.

We are proud to have sponsors for the Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference ranging from large, multi-national corporations to small start-ups. All of these organizations and business have recognized our conference as an important resource and networking tool, and we are exciting to hear when they have taking a new step to be more sustainable and profitable.

That is why we wanted to share the news that International Paper joined the Global Forest & Trade Network in North America, one of World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s initiatives focused on eliminating illegal logging and promoting environmentally and socially responsible forest management.

This blog is by John Guevarra, Research and Policy Analyst for Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE). Learn more about LAANE’s recycling campaign here. LAANE is a convener of the 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference. Learn how to add your organization’s name to the — at no cost — here.

Picture this moment at last year’s Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference in Los Angeles: Several hundred environmentalists, union members, and green jobs advocates rallying on behalf of green jobs at a recycling facility in a heavy industrial area. The crowd — some donned in business casual, others in reflective vests, and many in union t-shirts— held signs that read “Fight for Recycling Workers!” while rallying in support of the workers’ right to fair treatment and safe conditions.  

In an industry that is deemed one of the “most dangerous industries in the nation” by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and with injury and fatality rates higher than police and firefighters, the workers at this facility appreciated every bit of our support.

The line-up for Good Jobs, Green Jobs 2013 — April 16-18 in Washington, D.C. — just keeps getting better and better. Today, we’re proud to announce AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten will keynote the 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference.

Since being elected President of the AFL-CIO in 2009, Richard Trumka has been at the forefront of the battle to ensure that American working people aren’t left behind and that the jobs we create now and in the future are good jobs that can support families.

Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.5 million-member American Federation of Teachers. She and the members of her union are leading the effort to green our schools to save energy, reduce carbon emissions, and ensure that students have a safe and healthy learning environment.

This blog is by Cylvia Hayes, Founder and CEO of 3EStrategies and the First Lady of Oregon (find Cylvia on Facebook or Twitter). This is the fourth blog in a series of items submitted by Good Jobs, Green Jobs sponsors, conveners and workshops presenters.

Over the past two years, the governors of California, Oregon, Washington and the premier of British Columbia have been jointly collaborating with energy, climate and economic development advocates to accelerate clean economy development and jobs growth in the region. These regional leaders have united around an agenda that takes energy efficiency to scale, expands clean transportation and creates a regional infrastructure exchange to attract private investors in clean economy infrastructure projects.

At the upcoming Good Jobs Green Jobs Conference, colleagues from Washington State and California and I will be speaking on a panel titled “Trickle Up Leadership: West Coast Clean Economy Collaboration.”  We will discuss how we launched the unique West Coast Clean Economy alignment initiative, what we’re currently working on, and where it might be headed.

This blog is by Neil Seldman, President of the Institute for Local Self Reliance (ISLR). ISLR can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. This is the third blog in a series of items submitted by Good Jobs, Green Jobs sponsors, conveners and workshops presenters.

Our workshop, Recycling and Economic Development: Attracting Companies to Your City, will present background on the recycling and economic development movement in the U.S., including recent trends, triumphs and the road ahead to Zero Waste. Two homegrown enterprises — a restorer for building materials and a small-scale composting-food growing facility — will present on their efforts and accomplishments and plans for the immediate future. The entire workshop will focus on reliability of programs and enterprises in your hometown.

We developed this workshop in order to present successful examples of Zero Waste, so that we can help others implement enterprises and to illustrate the nature of true Zero Waste activities.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be joining leaders in the environmental, labor, business, non-profit sectors, as well as elected champions working to address climate change like U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, at the 2013 Good Jobs, Green Jobs Conference — April 16-18 in Washington, D.C.

Don’t miss out on the nation’s largest dialogue on how to address climate change while creating good jobs for American workers. Register today!

As part of the Obama administration, Transportation Secretary LaHood has been a tireless advocate for expanding and updating our nation’s transportation networks, creating jobs, building stronger communities and reducing carbon pollution. He’s helped lead the charge to make automobiles and light trucks more fuel efficient, ushering in fuel-efficiency standards that will double the how far we can go on a gallon of gas by 2025.

This blog is by Simeon Grant, Executive Director of Green Technical Education & Employment (learn more about them on their website or Facebook page).
This is the second blog in a series of items submitted by Good Jobs, Green Jobs sponsors, conveners and workshops presenters about why they support the Conference. Visit the following to learn how you can add your organization’s name to the list of Sponsors and Conveners. 

California recently held its first cap-and-trade auction in its attempt to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by major corporations. The initial auction raised $55.8 million. If this process is successful, California hopes to raise more than $200 million annually.

The state Air Resources Board and the legislature are currently determining where this revenue will go. While many of the stakeholders are haggling over which projects should be funded to reduce GHGs, it seems our youth are conspicuously absent from these conversations, especially youth from communities of color.