Analyzing House Resolution 109. . . AKA The Green New Deal : Jacob Galloway
Over the past few months, especially in the early months of the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary, America has been hearing a lot about the specific candidate’s climate proposals and ecological plans. However, the thing that has been polarising both Democrats and Republicans since its proposal in early 2019 is House Resolution 109, also known as The Green New Deal. Most conversations surrounding this resolution devolve into vague warning of dystopia and turning America into “the next Venezuela,” but what the conversations lack is the discussion about the actual policy in the resolution. The deal is one of the first in United States history to really advocate for adopting wide scale climate solutions, but unfortunately the climate solutions are often glossed over. Discussing the specifics of this resolution is key to understanding what America is doing on behalf of the environment, and taking seriously these proposals is key to life on a healthy planet.
First and foremost, why was a green new deal proposed? Well, the world’s foremost climatologists have calculated that we need to stay under a 1.5 degree celsius level of warming in the next 12 years to advert an utter climate disaster. The consequences of warming by as small as 2 or even 3 degrees over the next 12 years will result in major damage to both the ecosystem and the planet. This level of warming would increase the power of and destructiveness of hurricanes, create mass migrations, famine, drought, and an unbelievable amount of human misery. These climate issues and predictions were the exact problems that freshman congress woman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and rep Ed Markey wanted to avoid when they proposed their resolution. And to be clear, that is exactly what the Green New Deal is–a resolution–meaning it is an outline for goals. The resolution is not a “bill”, it does not offer up revenue sources, and it does not begin any process, it simply outlines goals that the United States would need to meet in order to achieve the crucial zero-emmisions status which is key in staying under the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold.
The goals outlined in the proposal are very ambitious; however, with the idea in mind that America needs to be achieve net-zero emissions in the next twelve years, they seem rather lenient. The most heavy undertaking is the goal of “meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.” This is an essential part of the resolution’s thesis that the United States absolutely must decarbonize in the next few decades, but as of now we only get 17% of our energy from renewable sources. This goal would immediately change the way that people lived their life, flowing into transportation, jobs, and other aspects of life as we know it. This is related to another goal which is creating a more sustainable culture of consumption around animal products. According to a CNN special report, 14.5% of all emissions globally comes from industrial agriculture: a huge margin. By completely cutting off fossil fuels and creating a more conscious consumer culture, the deal aims to stop the component of human life that is adding consistently more carbon to the cycle.
After the initial step of reducing emissions, the deal has plans for combating waste and trying to reverse the current damage. Phase two of the project is retrofitting old buildings, structures, and power grids to increase efficiency in the electricity that we have and the electricity that we use in order to curb use. This would ensure that we would not have to rely on fossil fuels and that our energy is being put to the best use possible. And finally, the resolution makes it a goal to start repairing our broken ecosystems through revitalization programs. This step is a crucial part in creating future carbon sinks and terrestrial storage sites for carbon.
The most controversial part of the Green New Deal, however, is its provisions for healthcare, social justice, and guaranteed working opportunities. To many this seems completely devoid of the goal of environmental protection, but, on the contrary, it is directly related. The goals in the Green New Deal would mean the loss of millions of jobs in industries, areas, and companies that continually destroy the planet or deal in fossil fuel (This cars, oil companies, coal mines, etc.). What the second part of the deal promises is that human beings will not be a casualty in the climate fight, and that no one, regardless of employment status, should be afraid to fight for the planet and the future. The aim of the Senators was to acknowledge the hard realities that some would lose their jobs, but none should have to lose their basic human provisions. This portion of the bill is often touted as the most “senseless” or “communistic,” when in reality it is simply realistic in its statement that the Green New Deal will be difficult. Decarbonizing an entire nation that is hooked on fossil fuel will not come without consequences, but this deal proposes that the government should prevent people falling through the cracks when it comes to environmental sustainability.
The entire proposal is such a massive undertaking, yet in a way feels like it is not enough. It is clear that incremental change at this point is too late, but some of the aspects of a rapid change will be nearly impossible to take on. The reason why I and every other american should be so passionate about this piece of legislation is because as voters, we will have the say in the future, and, as of now the deal that could potentially save our planet is dead in Washington. It begs the question: what lengths should we go to in order to protect the environment? Why are we afraid of something that is so necessary? How can we mitigate the human loss in decarbonization? And, importantly: Why do we lack the political will to change the planet?
21 comments:
It’s interesting how you were able to connect our politically-neutral class to politics. I had no previous knowledge of the Green Deal and most of what I hear from Presidential candidates today focus on the issues of abortion, immigrations, education and gun laws. The proposition of the Green Deal is incredibly idealistic and can only be done with the full cooperation of the majority of the American population which I don’t personally think would occur because many people are comfortable in the current way of living without pondering over whether or not their way of life is sustainable. The fact that such an idea was even proposed proves that global climatic change is a legitimate concern that government officials must begin to think about because the future of our country, and the globe, could be in danger if we continue on the excessively carbon-filled path that we are on.
I'm always disappointed in the fact that both parties are too busy arguing to truly come together and implement something that is 100% necessary. We are so afraid of change because everything today is a red or blue issue. We are so desperate to complain about what another side wishes to stop and consider ways to improve the state of our planet. Thank yoy for the enlightening post!
The world has always dealt with the problem of using too much fossil fuels in our everyday lives, and I like how you called those people out in your blog to make them visualize the Earth in the future. This is the first time I am hearing about the Green deal that presidents are debating, but it seems to be an important issue that depends to the life of our world. Although there are some people that desire for change in lifestyles, many civilians are content with what they have. These kind of people do not realize the great impact on the environment of the world today. I believe people need to start looking at their carbon footprint and realizing that change must occur.
The new green deal will most likely be a good first step towards climate change, and will help our world problem of fossil fuels. I'm not sure i understand what politics had to do with this subject but it does seem to connect with the change in world political view on climate change. The impact on the environment has been substantial and some change does need to happen and this is a good first step.
Today’s age doesn’t realize the damage they do to our environment every single day. This proposal is one of the key factors in taking the stand to create sustainability among our current and future generations. Though many people in our young generation don’t take part in politics, this aspect just sounds like a necessity in only for our government, but our overall well-being. In as little as 12 years, like this blog emphasizes, our world could be completely upended by our own doing.
I enjoy how you connected politics and environmental needs. I believe that people are simply afraid of change. Society nowadays depend so much on materialistic items that it has kind of become a culture. Although the protection of the environment is necessary and everyone knows it, I think people still place their own needs and wants above the environment. Furthermore, current politics are so set upon arguing about social conflicts like gun laws and abortion laws and place so much emphasis and importance on these issues in particular. Therefore, people also have a lack of insight of environmental problems because they aren't shown as much on the news.
I think that people are just too lazy to actually go and vote for change because they do not realize how important it is to protect our environment. This new proposal will be great to putting a halt on climate change through their protecting of ecosystems natural carbon sinks and reducing fossil fuels. If we can continue with this proposals claims, then hopefully the environment will be healthy for future generations to come.
Your sense of urgency in this article is so vivid that I love it. People do not realize how important the environment is and thus nobody takes the action to save it. I also love how you connected politics to environmental issues because that is exactly what the green new deal discusses. If we want to save the planet then it must be done within the next 12 years or as mentioned in the passage there will be disasters.
I didn't know about The Green New Deal, and I didn't realize there is a an opportunity in politics to change the world. Voting is very crucial and especially with this proposal on the line. With the amount of damage we have done to environment already, we should be trying to cut down on emissions and improve the conditions of the environment greatly. Some people are afraid to vote because they don't understand all what it entails, and they don't have the necessary information. Job loss is a huge deal, and as it was stated in the blog, it will have to happen if we are to make a change. There is always a way we can create more jobs, but it will be difficult. Political power could change a lot of things, and this proposal could be the beginning of helping our world and reducing our carbon footprint.
I actually never heard more than the name of such legislation before this but I found it very interesting. I think the major reason why some are hesitant to agree with such legislation is the worry of false promises. Politicians, regardless of party, often make promises and goals that seem alluring to the general public without having a solid plan for how to attain such goals. After all, reducing carbon emissions, especially those accounted for by mass agriculture, would be a massive undertaking in a country whose entire center is dedicated to farmland. Furthermore, reducing such emissions would be costly and have more hurt than help for poor farmers living in the great plains. Finally, the simple truth is that there is no way to handle human beings entirely equally so that nobody is left behind. Regardless of political opinion, based on the nature of human beings, this holds to be a simple truth. Therefore, I agree that some sort of legislation must be enacted in coming years if we want to help save our planet and reduce our negative footprint as a country, however, I believe there should be a realistic and detailed approach to doing so laid out before any legislation is put forth or discussed because until a plan exists it appears merely to be a strategy in a campaign tugging at the heartstrings of our country’s environmentalists.
I was very shocked when I read a specific fact in your blog; “The consequences of warming by as small as 2 or even 3 degrees over the next 12 years will result in major damage to both the ecosystem and the planet.” After reading this, it tells me how necessary it is for this new deal to take place. The destruction that can be evaporated by the Green New Deal would be amazing but it isn’t that simple. Humans(including me), are all scared of change. We all want to be near familiar places and do the same things but that won’t work anymore. The political leaders of the U.S need to step up and lead the charge. Anyone can help but our country’s leaders have the most influence on our nation.
I don’t think our generation really cares that much about the damage fossil fuels are doing to our world. Many focus on plastic pollution but some aren’t even that educated about fossil fuels and how much they’re increasing the global warming rate. Our world contains many selfish people who don’t do anything to improve climate change because they always takes the easy and fast route
I’ve heard about the New Deal before, but didn’t realize that its so important nowadays. With the current issues our country faces in the burning of fossil fuels and global warming, it is very important to pass this deal as soon as possible. People have to be made aware of these global issues so that they can make changes to help save our planets future. And we should start by having all of the country’s governments enforce change and take a stand to reduce global warming. Reducing our carbon footprint is a good way to start.
Wow that is so interestingly sad. I have never heard about this New Deal before, and I am now starting to realize how politics could go perfectly hand in hand with environmental issues. This is a good thing, however, because this shows how in today’s day and age we are still striving to help better the environment. Even though we are not there 100% yet, there is still people, like these politicians, who would care enough about the environment to create a new deal to help reducing carbon emission/ footprint. I believe this new deal can bring a gap between the new, old, and future generations into becoming a successfully sustainable society. I think your blog serves a meaningful perspective on how we humans need to be educated on our environment before it is too late.
I'm glad that the government is becoming more involved in environment conservation. It's a shame, though, that our polarized political climate has made it so difficult to agree on anything. We should all be willing to take big steps, like those proposed in this New Deal,to change our unsustainable ways of living if we want future generations to live well.
The Green New Deal came as a shock to me. I am glad to hear that our government is in some way addressing this issue, and I feel the way you explained it and all of its components was well organized and informative. Although this deal will be fought over for a while, it is re assuring to hear that there is at least something that is signaling a change to this degradation. However, that does not mean we should stop and give up because they are doing it now. As you reported, scientist feel we only have 12 years to fix these problems, that is barely one decade! So that means while they figure this deal out, we need to do our part. Which could include: reducing our carbon foot prints for starters. But if this deal is passed and put into effect, not only will it help our planet, but it could even create jobs that involve better working conditions and benefits too.
While the Green Deal presents a wonderful fantasy in regards to how we can help resolve the environmental detriments that have been confronting our world, it is, unfortunately, nothing more than a fantasy. It’s good to at least see the government try to make an effort to help solve issues such as global warming and climate change through this new legal proposition, however their entire plan is based on idealism, and a plan based on ideals is not a good plan. As aforementioned in Jacob’s post, the Green Deal would induce positive environmental change at the cost of losing millions of jobs. While the majority of these jobs come from factories burning fossil fuels that tarnish our environment, these are still jobs that provide families with a means to live and survive. How exactly does the government plan on dealing with the backlash from millions of unemployed factory workers that have even more people at their helm supporting their protest?
This was very informational and interesting! I’ve never heard of the Green New Deal before. It’s really amazing that we are planning our next steps for the future before it’s too late. Although it is going to be very difficult to bring change to the environment as it was said in the article, I think that anything could be possible if both the individuals and the government take action to save our planet soon!
I think that Safwat makes a great point, but at this point it's a matter of what will prevent the most loss and damage. The unemployed factory workers will still be alive, but no one will be able to survive for much longer if the government doesn't step in and create legislation to protect the only planet we have to live on. The Earth may not explode tomorrow from fossil fuels, but irreversible damage is being done.
Ive never heard of this before, but by reading this we need to change and be able to prevent damage. Lives have been lost that shouldn’t have if we make a difference in this. It is a good thing that we’re planning steps for the future, but we could have sooner. Great and interesting article!
This article was very informative on the Green New Deal. While I applaud lawmakers for taking this critical step, the Green New Deal provides lofty goals with very little information on how to attain these goals. The Green New Deal is very vague in its implementation, and has little regulations in place to deal with its negative impacts. It is important that the government takes these steps to help the environment, however, the Green New Deal is not the way to solve the ongoing climate crisis. Moreover, it’s polarization has lead to a lack of support in the government, as political parties remain firm in their beliefs. In order to create a comprehensive and effective legislation to help the environment, both parties need to come together and create a plan that will benefit all of America.
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