The Green New Deal is the latest attempt to get the U.S. government to doing something about climate change. (https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/politics/green-new-deal-proposal-breakdown/index.html ) The bill references the Roosevelt era, "the Federal Government-led mobilizations during World War II and the New Deal;" it's a resolution that insists we mobilize now.
The Green New Deal resolution has a lot in it but what jumps out is the call for a "10-year national mobilization" with several key objectives:
- "Meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources." That is, eliminating our dependence on fossil fuel in 10 years.
- "Upgrading all existing buildings" in the country for energy efficiency.
- Working with farmers "to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions ... as much as is technologically feasible."
- "Overhauling transportation systems" to reduce emissions - including expanding electric car manufacturing, building "charging stations everywhere," and expanding high-speed rail to "a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary."
- A guaranteed job "with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security" for every American. While this may appear to be a gratuitous add-on, the notion of a guaranteed job makes sense in light of the scope of the national mobilization, which will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.
This is not a drill. We're in the midst of a national emergency and we need to work together to deal with these dire circumstances.
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