We're usually full of good news. But today one of our heroes took a tough hit.

Van Jones resigned his White House post as green jobs adviser after a week of incessant attacks from the far right of American politics claiming that he was a communist or a black nationalist or wild-eyed. These are wrong--we've known Van for years, and there's no more thorough-going capitalist in the environmental movement, completely committed to the principle that before we talked about polar bears we needed to talk about jobs.

Youth climate activists the world over have been wearing green hard hats the last few years largely because of Van's example. And no one spent more time trying to bridge the gaps between races and classes than Van, addressing one of the environmental movement's most glaring weaknesses.

The reason the right wanted to bring him down was that he was effective. And if there's even a glimmer of good news here, it's that he'll be freed from the restrictions of high officialdom to bring all his eloquence and all his energy to bear on the challenges we face. We're very proud to be among  his many many colleagues.

_{Greenhard-hat photo courtesy of Shadia Fayne}