Cities cultivate 2 types of green

Squatting on the roof of a row house with a panoramic view of the sewage plants and warehouses that surround the South Bronx, James Wells sounds like a tree-hugger.

He photographs the progress of seedlings he planted on the roof, one of his first "green roof" installations, and explains how roofs covered by soil and plants, more trees on the ground and cleaner parks are key to fighting the pollution that overwhelms the neighborhood. As he speaks, a pungent rotting smell emanates from a sewage plant.

"Imagine living under these types of conditions," says Wells, 29. "It's one of the reasons asthma rates are so high in the Bronx."

Two years ago, Wells made an improbable conversion from convict to environmentalist. He was just out of prison after serving 10 years for armed robbery and couldn't find a job that would pay enough to make the rent.

Then he found Sustainable South Bronx, and he found a calling.

Since 2003, the environmental group has trained 70 former drug addicts, welfare recipients and convicts for jobs in landscaping, ecological restoration, green roof installation and hazardous waste cleanup.

The Bronx group is at the forefront of a movement to put low-income and low-skilled workers in "green collar" jobs: manual work in fields that help the environment.

Cities trying to strengthen the local economy and go green see the solution in green-collar jobs. Jobs in the $341-billion-a-year green industry have the potential to move people out of poverty, says Trenton, N.J., Mayor Douglas Palmer.

"This is a frontier that's going to open for the whole country, but especially for us in the Midwest and Northeast, where we need to grow our economy," says Palmer, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. A conference report out next month will advise mayors on how to set up green job programs.Cities are creating green-collar jobs by partnering with employers and social service and job placement agencies.

"There is only so much you can do replacing fancy light bulbs and only so many bicycles you can buy before you're done," says Van Jones, who founded the group. "You need to look at what else you can do. … This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect low-skilled people with dignified, promising career opportunities."

Advocates of green-collar job programs say concerns about the environment have been focused on hybrid cars, polar bears and the melting ice cap. They want more attention on improving conditions in poor communities, which studies show bear the brunt of environmental hazards because they have more power plants, industrial warehouses and waste facilities.

"We want to use the green-collar movement to move people out of poverty," says Majora Carter, head of Sustainable South Bronx. "Little green fairies do not come out of the sky and install solar panels. Someone has to do the work."

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