Politics

Years before it was announced that Van Jones, the premier green-jobs advocate in the country, was headed to the White House, it was clear that Van Jones was headed to the White House. Thomas Friedman devoted an entire 2007 column to Jones, writing of his lofty goals, “I would not underestimate him.” Jones muscled his…

In greenwashing, as in life, there are seven sins. There’s the sin of the hidden trade-off, for example, the sin of vagueness, and the sin of no proof. So says sinsofgreenwashing.org, which takes on companies that offer seemingly green benefits—often at a hefty price tag—with little results. As the green trend continues, companies in almost…

It’s Earth Day, and for a lot of black folks, sadly, that doesn’t mean much. But at The Root, we’re trying to do our best by the environment. Don’t worry. It’s easy being green. To get started, here are seven tips to help you put your best green foot forward. 1. Recycle 2. Become a Straphanger 3. Go From Four Wheels to…

For too long, most pundits have talked about the environment as, to borrow a phrase, a “white man’s burden.” Conventional wisdom has portrayed environmental justice as a pet project of beach cleaners, trail hikers, spotted-owl savers and—worst of all—elitists. But here’s the reality: In the fight to save the environment, city dwellers, especially African Americans,…

The green movement has always had an Achilles’ heel. Environmental issues are typically not like, say, racial profiling or gender-based pay inequity, where the injustice is demonstrable and plain. You’ve got to walk a would-be environmentalist through a few, often complex steps to connect seemingly benign action A with huge catastrophe B. And it often…

On Earth Day here in America, we can take notice that we are 5 percent of the world’s population but that we produce 25 percent of the world’s greenhouse gases, waste and consumption. We might also want to take notice of an uglier twin statistic from the London School of Economics: The United States produces…

Just who is the man about to become not only the president of South Africa, but the most powerful man on the continent? Most South Africans call him Jay Zed. Others call him by his clan name—Msholozi. And supporters wear T-shirts proclaiming him “100 percent Zulu boy.” His full name is Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, the…

The Barack Obama global charm offensive continues unabated as he returns to Washington from Trinidad and Tobago where he spent two days as the main attraction and the great hope at the Fifth Summit of the Americas. In a single weekend, Obama completely transformed the diplomatic landscape of the region, by saying the most reasonable,…

The United Nations World Conference Against Racism begins today in Geneva, Switzerland—without the Obama administration in attendance. The United States decided on Saturday to boycott the conference, just as the Bush administration did in 2001, when it was held in Durban, South Africa, amid a firestorm of controversy surrounding elements of the conference charter viewed…

If you’re running a Latin American country that has fallen out with the U.S. in recent years, or you’re the premier of a Caribbean island nation whose principal exports are tax shelters and LisaRaye, you better come with your “A” game when you meet with President Barack Obama at the Fifth Summit of the Americas.…