Saving the economy has usually meant harming the Earth. Economic growth spurts past — from the Gold Rush to the Industrial Revolution, from the rise of the automobile and the housing boom — have required heavily consuming environmental resources. But over the past few years economists and environmentalists have begun to explore the possibility of economic growth that preserves or even helps the environment, and the Obama administration is investing billions of dollars to spur green job growth in the energy and automotive industries. As a growth strategy, and a way to tackle some of California's scariest environment and infrastructure problems, going green makes a lot of sense, and federal stimulus money devoted to particular industries may not be enough. How can California create decades of green growth across its entire economy? Zócalo and the New America Foundation invite leaders in the field and the state to explore how best to green the state workforce, transform industries to grow sustainably, and make our towns and cities more livable.

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.

Discussion: How Do We Start a Long-Run Green Boom? 
Moderated by Lisa Margonelli, Director, Energy Policy Initiative, New America Foundation
California has long led the country on environmental initiatives — the state has pledged to produce a third of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Today, California has an estimated 159,000 green jobs, and over the last 13 years, green jobs have grown by 36 percent, while Californian jobs in general have grown by 13 percent. But despite these forward-looking trends, how can policymakers ensure that the green boom doesn’t quickly go bust, or that the boom benefits all Californians, not just those who can buy Priuses? Zócalo and the New America Foundation invite Collaborative Economics' Tracey Grose, Fresno Sustainability Manager Joseph Oldham, Kaiser Permanente's Kathy Gerwig, Spring Ventures Founding Partner Sunil Paul, and Michael P. Wilson of the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry to consider how best to develop the economy and preserve the environment in the long run.

Lisa Margonelli, Can California Green its Worst Problems?
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. How can California transform today’s vexing challenges — traffic jams, heat waves, even supporting the aging population — into green opportunities? Lisa Margonelli, author of Oil On the Brain: Petroleum's Long Strange Trip to Your Tank, explains how the state can green its gremlins.
 

The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute based in Washington, D.C. with offices in California. For more information, click here.