Noted environmental leader, civil rights attorney and public speaker Van Jones will talk about a national "green-collar jobs" initiative at a presentation February 21 at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

Jones is the president of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, Calif. The center promotes integrated solutions to urban America’s toughest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. Working with the Apollo Alliance, Van is promoting the initiative that he hopes will create “green pathways out of poverty,” while greatly expanding the coalition fighting global warming.

Jones' most recent success is the passage of the Green Jobs Act of 2007, authorizing $125 million for green job training programs across the country. Van is a 1993 Yale Law graduate, husband and father.

The presentation begins at 6:30 p.m. in the academy’s main auditorium. The event will be preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.

The presentation is supported by the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Delaware Valley Green Building Council, Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, Drexel University, Temple University – Ambler, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, City of Philadelphia, and The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The lecture is made possible, in part, by funding of the Claneil Foundation and the Environmental Associates of The Academy of Natural Sciences and is sponsored by the School of Architecture and the Engineering & Design Institute at Philadelphia University.

For more information, visit the Academy of Natural Sciences' Town Square Program webpage. RSVP is required by sending email to: rwall@ansp.org.

1/4/2008