Finally! Hope ! Something we can actually do about climate change. The Green New Deal is an actual plan. Read on.
Energy old and new – oil well pumpjack and windmill, Oklahoma
(I hope our readers at Gardening Gone Wild and gardeners everywhere will recognize this is not a political issue and turn your heads and cringe. This is positive news, gardeners understand the Earth is not going anywhere – it is us who need to figure out sustainability. – Saxon Holt)
When young activists stormed the Congressional office of Nancy Pelosi last week demanding an environmental plan in the wake of the Democrats taking control of the House of Representatives, I wondered why go after one of the most liberal members of Congress, in the most liberal city in America, in the heart of the environmental movement.
Is there a plan ? Is this just an attention seeking stunt by naive, idealistic newbies to politics ? Actually no. There is an extraordinarily detailed bold plan: The Green New Deal. Modeled after the New Deal that pulled us out of the Depression, this new New Deal proposes a massive restructuring of resources and is a real template that reorganizes our jobs and economy around a resilient future.
Old school politicians wake up ! Why delay ANY longer ? What is it about climate change you do not get ? Urgent action is an understatement. And let’s no make this a right vs left political issue, there is work to be done by everyone.
We have cooked the planet already, there is no turning back; but that is not an excuse for giving up. Somehow or another humans will survive and there must be a new methodology to coexist in a sustainable future. Here, in the Green New Deal, is something we can ask friends and communities to support in their own way, gardeners, farmers, ecologists, urban dwellers, and suburbanites alike where we can all see our own role; and a plan and we can pressure elected official to make a stand.
First publish by the policy wonks at Data for Progress here at the key points, each one a definable goal.
TRANSFORM TO A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY
— 100% Clean and Renewable Electricity by 2035
— Zero Net Emissions from Energy by 2050
— 100% Net-Zero Building Energy Standards by 2030
— 100% Zero Emission Passenger Vehicles by 2030
— 100% Fossil-Free Transportation by 2050
FULFILL THE RIGHT TO CLEAN AIR AND CLEAN WATER
— National Clean Air Attainment
— Cut Methane Leakage 50% by 2025
— National Lead Pipe Replacement & Infrastructure Upgrades
— Guarantee Access to Affordable Drinking Water
— Protect Two Million New Miles of Waterways
RESTORE THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE
— Reforest 40 Million Acres of Public and Private Land by 2035
— Restore 5 Million Acres of Wetlands by 2040
— Expand Sustainable Farming and Soil Practices to 70% of Agricultural Land by 2050
— Cleanup Brownfields and All Hazardous Sites
STRENGTHEN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE
— Establish a National Fund for Urban and Rural Resilience
— Expand Public Green Space and Recreational Land and Waters
— Modernize Urban Mobility and Mass Transit
— Zero Waste by 2040
— Capture 50% of Wasted Methane by 2040
Each of these goals is real and tangible – a plan. We need to start with a plan. The policy paper goes on to promote the benefits of jobs and details many specific policy issues that need to be addressed. It has been adopted by a number of advocacy groups, especially among young progressives.
Yes, this is hugely ambitious but it is specific and provides a road map. Lets’ get started. Get informed and ask your congressional representative to get informed. Contact Congress. We can not wait.
An article in The Nation details the recent history of this movement.
The Sunshine Movement is activating young progressives on climate change with planned demonstrations and events.
350 Action is actively supporting political candidates for environment change in support go the Green New Deal.
The climate has changed. Let’s stop wringing our hands.
Delta Fire aftermath; Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California
Stand up for working with the earth, not destroying it.
Redwood Trees, Sequoia sempervirens, some of the oldest trees on Earth.
Latest posts by Saxon Holt (see all)
- The Green New Deal - November 19, 2018
- Leaning Pine Arboretum - January 31, 2018
- Landscape Panoramas 2017 - January 12, 2018
