Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez fervently defended her Green New Deal proposal, which failed in the Senate last week. The councilwoman said that people were dying because of the effects of climate change and an overall disregard for environmental consciousness. Ocasio-Cortez used record flooding as well as the Flint Water Crisis to convey her point that the Green New Deal was a necessary measure.
What is this Green New Deal, though? How does its failure to impact the Senate affect your family? Read on to find out!
What is the Green New Deal?
The Green New Deal is a stimulus program that plays off the New Deal initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Great Depression. The Green New Deal, like its predecessor, addresses the issues that reportedly plague the majority of United States citizens living in the present society. Climate Control and economic disparities are at the top of the list.
Who first coined the term?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was not the first to coin the term, “New Green Deal.” Thomas Friedman, a journalist, actually used the phrase in a two-piece op-ed for The New York Times in 2007.
The Green New Deal Rises Again: https://t.co/MI5eAab2ks
— Thomas L. Friedman (@tomfriedman) January 9, 2019
The journalist wrote, “If you have put a windmill in your yard or some solar panels on your roof, bless your heart. But we will only green the world when we change the very nature of the electricity grid – moving it away from dirty coal or oil to clean coal and renewables. And that is a huge industrial project – much bigger than anyone has told you. Finally, like the New Deal, if we undertake the green version, it has the potential to create a whole new clean power industry to spur our economy into the 21st century.”
Is The Green New Deal tied to socialism?
Several conservative news sites have deemed The Green New Deal as nothing short of socialism. Per the website devoted to the stimulus program,
“The Green New Deal will convert the old, gray economy into a new, sustainable economy that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially responsible. It seeks to solve the climate crisis by combining quick action to get to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and 100% renewable energy by 2030 along with an ‘Economic Bill of Rights – the right to single-payer healthcare, a guaranteed job at a living wage, affordable housing, and free college education.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvnEmW9AXtE/
Does the general public favor the New Deal?
A survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Communication conducted a survey last year in which experts asked members of the general public how they felt about the proposed Green New Deal. The survey found that 81 percent of respondents were in favor of the proposed program. We wonder what the response would be if the questionnaire were given today.
https://twitter.com/ClimateEquilib1/status/1110985788966092800
What happens with climate change if the Green New Deal fails to make its mark?
Climate Change has been an issue as far back as the 1970s. While there is no guarantee that the Green New Deal will change the environment for the better, it is for certain that global warming will continue to build without intentional changes.
Learn more about the New Green Deal here!
Photo: Popular Mechanics
