Why is the Green New Deal such a big deal? And what impact could it have on your life and the life and future of your family and community?
I’ve read the Deal from top to bottom and here’s what I’ve figured out:
What the Green New Deal aims to do is:
Eliminate the carbon emissions fueling climate change and
the resulting extreme weather events, economic disruption, and disease it causes.
…and
Do it in the next 10 years.
But what, specifically, does the Green New Deal call for? Here’s a rundown of the Deal and what it means for us and our kids.
First, what actually IS it? The Green New Deal is a resolution, not a proposed law. It does not suggest specific legislation. Instead, it sets an exciting goal that calls for the US to reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2029. In doing so, it acknowledges how current energy production affects every aspect of our lives, including employment, health, housing, and education.
Still need to know more about climate change? Don’t miss this post:
Top 10 Reasons to Take Climate Change Seriously!
Why Is It called a “New Deal”? The reference is to the New Deal President Franklin D. Roosevelt created in the 1930s to save the United States from the worst depression in its history. FDR’s New Deal not only put people back to work but established a host of federal agencies and programs to protect farmers, the unemployed, youth, and the elderly.
Several of those programs, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), as well as the Social Security System and the Securities and Exchange Commission, endure today and continue to benefit millions of Americans.
How would the Green New Deal benefit the environment? This past year, rampant forest fires and severe hurricanes destroyed millions of acres of forests. Climate change has made it possible for voracious pests like the pine bark beetle to extend their range northward, killing additional millions of acres of trees. Every year, oil spills pollute lakes, rivers and streams. Fracking for natural gas emits horrible air pollutants and contaminates the drinking water of hundreds of communities.
Phasing out the coal mining, fracking, and oil drilling whose emissions cause pollution and climate change would improve air and water quality. Reversing rising global temperatures could stop the spread of many pests and illnesses like Lyme disease, which have been on the rise as ticks extend their range into what were once cold climates.
How would the Green New Deal get us off dirty energy and onto cleaner energy sources? The Deal suggests a multi-step plan that begins with efficiency. It would upgrade all existing buildings to “achieve maximal energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort, and durability.”
New energy would be achieved by “Meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources” like solar and wind. The GND also advocates investing in “clean, affordable, and accessible public transportation,” and expanding high-speed rail to reduce the need for polluting air travel. It would spur “massive growth in clean manufacturing” while “removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and industry as much as is technologically feasible.” Helping farmers and ranchers eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., the methane cows and pigs emit when they belch and fart) is on the list, too.
Would the Green New Deal benefit children’s health? Yes! The Deal advocates an immediate transition away from burning the fossil fuels whose emissions are the primary source both of climate change and dirty air.
That would be good news for all kids, but especially for the millions who suffer from asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Less air pollution would also mean fewer “code red” or “code orange” air quality days, so kids could play outside more. In the long term, reducing the extreme weather events associated with climate change would protect children from threats associated with hurricanes, wildfires, and floods. It would also help stop the spread of infectious diseases, poison ivy, and the ticks that cause Lyme disease.
Who’s going to pay for it? The sponsors of the resolution, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA), view the Green New Deal as an investment, not an expenditure. “We will finance … the Green New Deal the same way we paid for the original New Deal, World War II, the bank bailouts, tax cuts for the rich, and decades of war–with public money appropriated by Congress.”
In all likelihood, individual programs would be paid for by some combination of re-allocated federal program budgets and private entrepreneurial investments, like those Elon Musk made to create the Tesla electric car and John Mackey made when he established the Whole Foods grocery chain.
Anything as ambitious and creative as the Green New Deal is bound to generate detractors and naysayers, and the Deal is no exception.
But with sixty-nine percent of Americans saying they are “somewhat worried” or “very worried” about climate change, according to a December survey by Yale University in Connecticut and George Mason University in Virginia, it would seem that a majority of Americans want government to do much more than they’re doing to rein in this catastrophe-in-the-making.
Of course, you don’t have to wait for Congress to act to do your own part to start saving energy and using solar and wind.
Start by reading this post:
18 Smart Ways to Save Energy At Home
Then,
Check out the Sunrise Movement, a non-profit coalition that’s working to advance the Green New Deal across the country.
And stay tuned! I’ll have more specifics coming your way soon about how you can take advantage of the Green New Deal.
NOTE: A version of this post originally appeared on Moms Clean Air Force. Make sure you check them out!
