VJ: (con't.) We're gonna now have to return to a world where we build, respect the earth, and rather than relying on debt, relying on savings and thrift like our grandparents did.  Well, that's actually a very good thing for the earth.  It's a very good thing for, frankly, Asia, which right now is having to drag people away from their homes and pull them out of villages and stuff them into mega-cities to make, frankly, crap to send over here at great ecological cost and great social cost to them.  We think there should be a green economy in Asia where the incredible industry of the Asian people are thank God coming out of - you know, pulling these people out of poverty can be used to develop Asia, develop China, develop India and have strong internal markets there that are more appropriate for the earth, and we should also be able to pull millions of people out of poverty in the United States with a similar strategy.

So a green collar economy is not just good for the polar bears, it's not just good for poor people who might want to get new points of access to the job market; it's good for the whole economy.  It's a sounder footing that this book suggests, a sounder footing going forward, a way to turn this breakdown into a breakthrough, and I hope people will read the book with that in mind.

LG: Thank you. Is there a passage that you'd like to share from your book?

VJ: Yeah.  You know, I will read just a little piece from a chapter we call "Eco-Equity," and it talks about the principle of equal opportunity in the green economy, and I talk about Dr. King, and I say -

"Dr. King is a global hero because he marched and died to racially integrate the last century's economy, even though that economy was based on the old pollution and poison-based technologies.  He made the supreme sacrifice.  He laid down his life to ensure that the old economy, flawed though it was, had a place for everyone.  He was not alone.  Those buses that the Freedom Riders risked death to integrate were not using biodiesel fuel or hybrid engines back then.  Those lunch counters that the Civil Rights activists risks beatings and arrests to open up to everyone, they were not serving organic tofu.  Those schoolhouses, which little black children risked pain and humiliation to integrate, they were not green buildings with solar panels on them.

"The Civil Rights champions all risked their lives to win equal access to an economy that, in retrospect, was undermining the health of the planet, and yet their callings and achievements were undeniably among the noblest in human history.  If the crusade to racially integrate the dirty, gray economy represented the height of nobility in the last century, then how morally compelling is the call to build and inclusive green economy in this one?  If Dr. King and other activists were willing to face attack dogs and fire hoses and murderous mobs to get everyone included in the pollution-based economy, then what should you and I be willing to do today to ensure that the new clean and green economy has a place in it for everyone?"

LG: Van, thank you so much for joining us on GreenBiz Radio today.

VJ: I'm happy to be here. Thanks for the opportunity.