What Is The Green New Deal?
The Green New Deal is a congressional resolution that lays out a grand plan for tackling climate change.
Introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, both Democrats, the proposal calls on the federal government to wean the United States from fossil fuels and curb planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. It also aims to guarantee new high-paying jobs in clean energy industries.
The resolution is nonbinding, so even if Congress approves it, nothing in the proposal would become law. To read the full congressional resolution, click here.
Investigating The Green New Deal by Ross Clark
Last month’s glorious wildflower display or “super bloom” provided a brief reminder of the glory of nature. Unfortunately, this reminder is countered by California communities struggling to recover from last year’s exceptional wildfires. Such is one example of how we are influenced and impacted by the natural environment. We are now driving real changes in the natural climate, mostly ignorant of how these changes will influence our future. With recent reports that global carbon emissions hit an all-time high in 2018 (37 billion tons), many of the world’s young people are speaking up and trying to take control of the “wheel” and drive us back towards global preservation.
In March, students from around the world held mass walkouts of schools in protest of global leaders’ inaction. The facts are discouraging. After many years of carbon reductions in the United States (18% below peak levels), greenhouse gas emissions increased globally by 1.7% last year. The greatest increases in emissions were from China and India. In contrast, the most recent IPCC report on climate change states plainly, that we have a decade to cut global emissions significantly. To Read the full Santa Cruz Sentinel article, click here.
AOC on Republican Inaction on Climate Change
Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gives a fiery speech during a committee hearing in response to Republicans push-back on her climate change policy, The Green New Deal. ‘You want to tell people that their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist?’, yells a impassioned Ocasio-Cortez. ‘Tell that to the kids in the South Bronx which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country … You’re telling those kids that they are trying to get on a plane to Davos? People are dying!’
America Can Afford A Green New Deal – Here’s How by Edward Barbier
The Green New Deal’s 10 Year Timeframe Is Unrealistic Even If A Lot Can Happen In A Few Decades by Seth Blumsack
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass) are calling for a “Green New Deal” (PDF) that would involve massive government spending to shift the U.S. economy away from its reliance on carbon.
Their congressional resolution goes into great detail about the harms of climate change and what the U.S. government should do about it. Left unanswered, however, is how America would pay for it. To read full article, click here.
The Green New Deal Democratic lawmakers recently proposed would confront climate change by eliminating America’s net carbon emissions within a decade. If enacted, it would transform America’s energy industries and slash pollution, improving public health. To read full article, click here.