Core Message and Talking Points

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Now that September 27th 2008 is over, we are no longer actively updating the Resources section.   If you are looking for get engaged in the movement for green jobs and an inclusive green economy, visit Next Steps.

The content below is dated to before the day of action.

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Core Message

I urge our elected officials to invest in creating millions of green jobs and a Clean Energy Corps.  We can't drill and burn our way out of the current crisis.  We can invest and invent our way out.  We can create new pathways out of poverty and curb global warming at the same time.  We will do this by retooling our factories, rebuilding our communities, and repowering America with 100% clean and renewable electricity.  It's time to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

Key Talking Points

1. We're ready to build the new economy. We're ready for green jobs now.
2. We can't drill and burn our way out of our problems. We must invest and invent our way out.
3. America's number one resource is people, not oil.

1. We're ready to take on the climate crisis by building a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty.  Investing in a green future will jumpstart our economy.
2. Green Jobs Now is a National Day of Action that sends a clear message to policymakers that Americans are ready for the green economy and want to see action.  
• Today, tens of thousands of Americans are taking part in hundreds of Green Jobs Now events across the country.
• People from campuses to housing projects, from Native American reservations to Black churches will stand up and say, "We are Ready for Green Jobs Now!"
3. Together we can repower America with 100% clean electricity in 10 years.
• When we repower America in this way, we will create new local jobs, preserve many existing jobs, reduce energy costs, and help our country fight global warming and environmental damage.  We can all agree that lower fuel costs, freeing ourselves from an addiction to foreign oil, and saving our planet are good things.
4. A "green-collar job" is a blue-collar job that has been upgraded to respect the environment.
5. Green jobs are local jobs that can't be shipped overseas.  The green economy means weatherizing thousands of buildings, installing thousands of solar panels and erecting thousands of wind turbines.
6. Green jobs are good jobs – jobs that clean up our communities and offer career pathways to prosperity.  Green jobs are about purpose and a paycheck.
7. Green-collar workers will save the planet and rebuild our economy.  Green-collar workers are the heroes (and sheroes) of the new century.
8. We're ready to work. We're ready to serve. We need a national "Clean Energy Corps" that will invest in America's number one resource - the American people. A Clean Energy Corps will combine service, training, volunteer and job creation opportunities to combat global warming, grow local and regional economies and demonstrate the equity and employment promise of the clean energy economy.
9. A Clean Energy Corps will engage millions of Americans in a common purpose by retrofitting homes, small businesses, and public buildings to make them more energy efficient, preserving and enlarging green public spaces, and strengthening community defenses against climate disruption.
10. We cannot drill and burn our way out of America's economic and energy problems.  We must invent and invest our way out.

Counter the anti-green jobs messages:

BAD MESSAGE: "All of the Above"

COUNTER MESSAGE: Some folks say, "Let's do all of the above.  Let's have green jobs AND dirty oil, coal, and nuclear."  This is WRONG.  When someone is sick – like our planet and economy are sick right now –and they go to the doctor and they say, "Doc, What medicine should I take?"  If the doctor says "take all of the above," you know you need a new doctor.  All of the above will not create a green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

BAD MESSAGE: "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less"

COUNTER MESSAGE: The polluters are using high gas prices to trick people into letting them drill more, burn more and profit more.  Offshore drilling would take 10 years to produce even a two-cent drop in gas prices.  Oil company executives have enjoyed record-shattering profits while regular people pay through the nose at the pump.  The way to bring down prices is by investing in alternative vehicles, alternative fuels, mass transit, and conservation.  Also, more drilling won't create new jobs.  Green investment will create four times as many American jobs as the same investment in oil production.