If we can give billions to Detroit ...

... why not fully fund the Green Jobs Act?

I got an email this morning from Van Jones and Green for All, the group that brought the Dream Reborn conference to Memphis in April for the 40 anniversary of Martin Luther King's death. Green for All's mission is to create a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

"We believe all people deserve access to healthy food and clean energy sources," Jones said at the time. "Environmental solutions are not just for people who can afford to buy a hybrid car or put solar panels on their second home."

In short, the environment affects everyone, (advocates of environmental justice would say it affects people of color disproportionately and I would agree) and the industry has the potential to help America's struggling workers.

Green for All is asking people to write Congress and tell them to fully fund the Green Jobs Act:

"The Green Jobs Act will create green pathways out of poverty in this country. Working with allies, Green for All got the program included in the Energy Bill of 2007. Bush signed the program into law last December. But he failed to include a penny for it in his 2008 budget proposal."

Frankly, at $250 million, funding the act seems like a bargain. And if we're giving out money to companies with older, out-dated business models, why not invest a small amount in promising technologies? We have nothing to lose, but quite a bit to gain.

To send an email to your Congressional representatives, click here.