New Age of Sustainable Capitalism: Business Models to Drive Growth and Social Change (Collection), The

5. Innovation from the Bottom-Up

The dual financial and climate crises have finally awakened the sleeping giant. New York Times columnist Tom Friedman argues that the best way for America to “get its groove back” is to take the lead in solving the world’s big problems—to issue what he calls a “Code Green:” “In a world that is getting hot, flat, and crowded, the task of creating the tools, systems, energy sources, and ethics that will allow the planet to grow in cleaner, more sustainable ways is going to be the biggest challenge of our lifetime.”¹ Activist Van Jones, Founder of Green for All, agrees: America’s challenge is to build the “green collar economy” where ordinary people benefit from the rapid deployment of energy efficiency and green ...