Green New Deal
Now, more than ever, our country needs to transition to a carbon-free, 100% renewable energy system and a fully modernized electrical grid, so that we can be 100% free of fossil fuels by 2030. Otherwise, it will be too late. We have already seen refugees fleeing extreme weather disasters, causing human calamities, unrest and conflict. We already have severe land erosion caused by rising sea levels. We have already experienced global warming that has increased exponentially over the years and continues to worsen at a frightening pace.
Rapid, man-made climate change and global warming represent a clear and PRESENT danger to our people, our democracy and the world at large. This is the single biggest national security threat for our country and the single biggest threat to worldwide industrialized civilization. To top that off, the effects of warming can be self-reinforcing and hard to predict. As such, we must be even more vigilant than ever. Our country must be a leader on the actions we take locally and globally — that means avoiding a worldwide refugee crisis by waging a war for climate justice through the mobilization of our people and our government.
Why We Need It
Right now, the economy is controlled by big corporations whose profits are dependent on the continuation of climate change. Only benefiting the very few and rich at the top, this unfortunate reality comes at the huge detriment of our planet and all of its inhabitants. The effects are life-threatening, be it constant erosion of our lands, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, heat waves, extreme weather events, and the list goes on. Yet, even worse than doing nothing, the current administration is actively rolling back the modest protections we do have, exacerbating the issue exponentially and putting more lives at risk all around the globe. How can the government help reverse climate change when its own politicians are pocketing money from big fossil fuel companies? And this is why we need to rise and speak up.
The fact that we are continuously relying on fossil fuels – coal, oil and natural gas – is holding us back from a new, clean energy revolution that would GREATLY benefit our economy, environment and collective public health. Fossil fuel companies have polluted our air and water, damaged our health, accelerated global warming, and tainted our political system for far too long. This must all stop, including the energy industry’s lobbying and contributions to political campaigns, both concerning the government and its elected officials; otherwise, the federal government will continue supporting the use of fossil fuels, handing out massive tax breaks and subsidies to multinational corporations that are already among the most profitable in the world.
U.S. fossil fuel-producing companies rake in hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue every year, with huge profit margins, yet the U.S. ranks the worst of all G7 countries by subsidizing fossil fuels the most — to the tune of over $26 billion a year.
Corruption, both legalized and unvarnished, makes it extremely difficult to take on the power of the energy-producing giants. And until we deal with the issue of money’s powerful influence on our political system, none of this will truly change. This is why campaign finance reform is something SO CRUCIALLY NEEDED and ESSENTIAL for a rebirth, and reshaping, of a more free, democratic and inclusive America — where human beings are more valued than short-term profits and corporate interests. Additionally, radically addressing climate change is a potential path towards a more equitable economy with increased employment and widespread financial security for all, as there is most definitely a relationship between economic stability and environmental sustainability. For these reasons, it’s important that we shift course and implement a Green New Deal – a transformation that implements structural changes to our political and financial systems, in order to help alter the trajectory of our environment.
What We Are Fighting For
We need to transform our energy system to 100% renewable energy and create 20 million jobs to solve the climate crisis, while ensuring a just transition for communities and individuals, including fossil fuel workers. We also need to ensure justice for frontline communities, especially under-resourced groups, communities of color, Native Americans, people with disabilities, children and the elderly. Additionally, we need to invest in weatherization, public transportation, modern infrastructure and high-speed broadband for all of our people, families and communities so that no one is left behind. Further, a commitment to reducing emissions throughout the world, while also rejoining the Paris Agreement, is needed as well.
While holding temperature increases as close as possible to where they are now is advisable, we can do more and reverse global warming back to more long-term sustainable levels.
That means taking our carbon that we have added to the atmosphere and putting it back into the earth from where it came, be it through reforestation, transforming our soil to farmland soil, restoring wetlands and peatlands, as well as increasing phytoplankton and fisheries, at the very minimum. Other measures include reducing food waste, promoting a plant-rich diet, protecting tropical forests, proper land management, regenerative agriculture, refrigerant management, encouraging the electrification of vehicles, sustainable home heating, distributed rooftop solar generation and the conversion of the power grid to zero-emissions energy sources. Even seemingly unrelated issues like educating all peoples globally and family planning are known to be an important part of the solution. And it is this type of full systems approach that we will need to reverse global warming and lead our planet towards long-term sustainability, for our generation and for future generations. Or else it will be too late.
The greed of the fossil fuel industry must be stopped and it must be held accountable.
What It Will Do
A Green New Deal would provide an overall strategy for how clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and transportation, as well as a national green jobs program could save our environment, reverse climate change, and revitalize our economy by utilizing our innovative human capacity to benefit all our people. This would ensure that many generations to come could continue living in a healthy and safe environment, without having to worry about harmful effects on their health, families and communities.