California has 159,000 green jobs, according to recent analysis from NextTen.org, but we need more to really tackle California's scariest environment and infrastructure problems, and to provide jobs in the long term. The Obama administration is investing billions to create green jobs in fields like solar, wind, electric vehicles and batteries, and California is taking advantage of these opportunities. But in order to create more green jobs, we need more than federal stimulus funds; we need new ideas on how to create decades of growth in green jobs and green industries. Join Zócalo and the New America Foundation for a provocative discussion on how California's innovators and policy makers can build green jobs and much more.
Keynote
Steve Westly, How California can Lead the Clean Tech Revolution
Steve Westly is founder and managing partner of The Westly Group. Mr. Westly previously served as the Controller and Chief Fiscal Officer of the state of California, chairing the State Lands Commission and serving on 63 other boards and commissions. During his term, Mr. Westly led an effort to commit more than $1 billion to clean technology investments. Mr. Westly is a former a Senior Vice President at eBay and author of two books on alternative energy and utilities.
Salon Discussion
Beyond Green Jobs: Californian Innovations
Featuring some of the state's most creative cities, companies, innovators and entrepreneurs, the discussion will focus on how to expand the green promise beyond the stimulus well into the middle of the century. What would a long green boom look like? And how are cities preparing to become green development zones--not just for jobs but to be nice places to live? How can we make ALL California's jobs greener? How do we make sure a green economy benefits all Californians, not just the ones who can afford Priuses?
Tracey Grose
Vice President, Research & Strategic Development
Collaborative Economics, Inc
Joseph Oldham
Sustainability Manager
City of Fresno
Kathy Gerwig
Vice President, Workplace Safety and Environmental Stewardship Officer
Kaiser Permanente
Sunil Paul
Founding Partner of Spring Ventures
Founder of the non profit Gigaton Throwdown and the Clean Economy Network
Michael P. Wilson, Ph.D, MPH
Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry
UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Closing Remarks
Lisa Margonelli, Greening Our Gremlins: Notorious Problems Californians could turn into Opportunities
California was once known for its smog, but an aggressive approach to regulation turned us into a leader for the nation, created jobs, and gave us cleaner air. California should look to its most vexing problems--traffic jams, summer heat waves, and even the aging population, to find opportunities to create industries, jobs, and green solutions.
Lisa Margonelli directs New America's Energy Policy Initiative and is the author of Oil On the Brain: Petroleum's Long Strange Trip to Your Tank.
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Zócalo Public Square is a non-profit organization that mobilizes broad audiences around the fundamental issues that affect our lives as Americans. Through our web magazine, lectures, panels, screenings, and conferences, Zócalo takes on compelling ideas from a wide range of fields - politics, governance, health, economics, technology, foreign policy, arts, science and beyond. Believing that over-specialization and narrowcasting undermine the public square, Zócalo seeks to restore broad-mindedness to civic and intellectual life and to welcome a new, young and diverse generation to the conversation.
Since 2003, Zócalo has roamed around Los Angeles, to Chicago, New Orleans, San Francisco and as far as Shanghai, Berlin and Guadalajara. We have featured over 800 thinkers and doers online and on the ground, using our live events to build community and feed the open, accessible, non-partisan spirit of our magazine. Please visit www.zocalopublicsquare.org for the latest updates.
