Van Jones is officially confirmed as the Obama Administration’s Green Czar

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Van Jones and Gavin Newsom at the San Francisco signing of “Green Collar Economy”

OFFICIAL UPDATE 3/10 : The White House has officially confirmed Van Jones as  “Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation” at the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

Nancy Sutley, Chairwoman of the CEQ, welcomed her new senior adviser:

“Van Jones has been a strong voice for green jobs and we look forward to having him work with departments and agencies to advance the President’s agenda of creating 21st century jobs that improve energy efficiency and utilize renewable resources.  Jones will also help to shape and advance the Administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communities.”

Rumors on the blogosphere last weekend indicated that Van Jones was to be appointed as the Green Czar of the Obama administration:

According to Grist, “a well-placed source confirms that Jones has been offered a position in the administration, but said that “green jobs czar” is an overstatement.”

A weekend posts from Greendig reports that according to “texts from two people close to Van Jones,” he was confirmed in the position last Friday. Interesting enough, Greendig points to our very own David Anderson, the founder of Green options Media, as being responsible for first predicting the appointment of Van Jones as Green Czar:

“This was first suggested/predicted in the blogosphere back in October by David Anderson of Green Options Media, who said that Van, equipped with years of grass roots experience in community development has built “a credible case for the win-win-win green collar economy of the future.”

The rumor has already created a frazzled response through the blogosphere.  On one hand, the Wall Street Journal questions whether Senator Robert Byrd’s warning about czar overload in the White House has fallen on deaf ears given the vast number of czars that are “overseeing everything from health care to climate change without having to undergo a Senate confirmation.”

Others are wondering whether in fact Van Jones will Van be more effective as a government insider where he runs the risk of government bureaucracy getting in the way of all the attention he has drawn to the cause of green jobs.

About Van Jones

Van Jones is founding president of Green For All (a U.S. organization that promotes green-collar jobs and opportunities for the disadvantaged) and a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress. He is also a TIME Magazine 2008 Environmental Hero, one of Fast Company’s 12 Most Creative Minds of 2008, and the the New York Times Bestselling author of The Green Collar Economy (Harper One 2008), which is endorsed by Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle and Al Gore.

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Van Jones Profile: How To Build A Green Collar Economy : Ecopreneurist

resident Obama: The Economy versus Climate Change : The Inspired

Image credit: flickr

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