Something big is coming. Last week, over one hundred brave, young individuals took to Nancy Pelosi's office in D.C. to demand she establish a proper, formatted plan to combat climate change. Because even though most democrats claim to support the issue of climate change, the party has yet to establish a full, scaled plan to combat it. While Pelosi herself has yet to comment on the protests (or release a plan), other members of congress have been stepping up to support drastic, revolutionary change. At the forefront of all of this is newly-elected New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the now youngest representative to ever be voted in to congress, who recently proposed one of the most progressive, revolutionary, fully-encompassing plans to combat climate change. It's called the Select Committee on a Green New Deal, and it may just be the best hope we have for solving climate change. Let's talk about it.
What'S THE BIG IDEA?
First, we have to talk about what exactly this plan is, as well as what it means for us. I want to preface this section by saying that, if you would prefer to see the plan in its absolute, legislative entirety, then click here. I'm going to summarizing and explaining some of the most important parts, but I urge anyone with questions to see the official document. Let's begin.
Essentially, if approved, this plan would create a committee, which, according to the legislation itself,
"shall have the authority to develop a detailed national, industrial, economic mobilization plan...for the transition of the United States economy to become carbon neutral and to significantly draw down and capture greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and oceans and to promote economic and environmental justice and equality" (https://ocasio2018.com/green-new-deal)
This is absolute huge. Essentially, what it means is that, if approved, this committee would have the ability to completely redefine the United States economy (and its energy production) to reach the goals set forth by the United Nations IPCC report released a few weeks ago (which you can read about here). We're talking fully fledged alternative energy adoption here.
Now, the quote above is a large, general statement, and while lofty goals do sound nice, how exactly do they plan to have them achieved? Well, here are some more details:
The Committee
First, the committee created under this legislation will be composed of 15 members (each appointed by the speaker of the house (although 6 of them can be appointed by the Minority Leader) with one member as its chair. For all intents and purposes, this committee will be the same as any standing committee of the house, which you can learn about here.
These are the men and woman who will be drafting, finalizing, and implementing the New Green Deal. I want to make something clear right off the bat: the legislation submitted by Representative Ocasio-Cortez does not implement the plan ITSELF, but establishes this committee to create and then implement said plan. It's an important distinction to make, but don't let it dissuade you: this is a vital and necessary step towards implementing a solution.
Next, the committee MUST complete the full plan by a date no later than January 1st, 2020. That gives them a little over a year to finalize a plan of action, which means we'll get something done quickly. Next, they have to submit the finalized legislation (which would actually put the plan into practice) 90 days after the plan itself has been completed, but at the very least before March 1st, 2020. Then, the plan and legislation will be made widely available to the public before at least 30 days after their completion.
The Plan
Okay, so we know about the people who are going to be creating the plan, and what their deadlines are, but what's the plan itself? Here are the major goals:
"100% of national power generation from renewable sources
Building a national, energy-efficient, "smart" grid;
Upgrading every residential and industrial building for state-of-the-art energy efficiency, comfort, and safety;
Decarbonizing the manufacturing, agricultural, and other industries;
Funding massive investment in the drawdown and capture of greenhouse gases;
Making "green" technology, industry, expertise, products and services a major export of the United States, with the aim of becoming the undisputed international leader in helping other countries transition to completely carbon neutral economies and bringing about a global Green New Deal" (https://ocasio2018.com/green-new-deal).
These are some incredible ambitions. And what's more: they aim to give all members of society the opportunity to be a part of the transition, providing jobs to lower class, impoverished individuals.The plan itself will also be developed with guidance from experts and leaders from all realms, including governments, businesses, organizations, and private experts, ensuring that the research and subsequent plans provided will be well informed.
Finally, what might be the best part of all: the plan must be FULLY implemented within 10 years of the start of its execution. That means ALL of the goals listed above will be COMPLETED by 2030. 100% renewable energies, greenhouse gas removal, updated energy grids, ENTIRE SOCIETAL CHANGE, accomplished all within the 12 year boundary set by the United Nations IPCC Report. They gave us 12 years to avoid catastrophic disaster, and this plan would not only avoid it, but do so with time to spare.
Conclusion
Those are the most important points to take away from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Select Committee on a Green New Deal. However, I highly, highly urge you to read the plan for yourself, as it includes even more information than what I was able to fit in the confines of this post. It's worth a look, especially if you have more questions that were not answered by what I've written.
Now is a critical, crucial time for action. For the first time, we are presented with a plan to combat climate change that not only addresses it on a scale in accordance with the scope of the problem, but does so in a matter that could bring millions of jobs to the United States, and establish us as leaders in the switch to the use of more alternative energies. It sounds incredulous, impossible, utterly inconceivable, but the truth is, with a twelve year timeline to stop disaster, the inconceivable is exactly what we need. The establishment of this committee is an integral first step towards solving one of the greatest problems of our age. But, in order to get it passed, the movement needs your help.
And how, might you ask, can you help to pass a piece of legislation? Well, I'm posting another full post on the topic (which should have already gone up by now) which you can view by clicking here. In it, I'm going to be finishing this discussion by talking about the most beneficial ways we can help get this committee approved, and set ourselves on a course to solve the climate crisis once and for all. It's a big task, one possibly larger than climate activists have ever seen before, but this is our current and best hope for a solution, and we're going to need all hands on deck to put it into action. So, only one question remains: will you join us?
All credit for information used in this post goes to:
https://ocasio2018.com/green-new-deal
https://www.house.gov/committees
Images:
https://jacquierobinsonphotography.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/light-up-the-night-sky/
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2018/11/13/ocasio-cortez-addresses-environmental-protesters-waging-sit-in-in-pelosis-office.html
https://rwnofficial.com/broke-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-breaks-into-pelosis-office-starts-making-big-demands/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rf-hemphill/5-reasons-utility-compani_b_7215976.html
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/introduction-house-foreign-affairs-committee/
https://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/sunrise-movement-climate-change-elections/
https://www.thefire.org/goldwater-institute-releases-model-campus-free-speech-legislation-for-states/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientist
https://sciencing.com/the-un-just-released-a-new-climate-report-and-weve-got-12-years-to-limit-climate-change-13715438.html
http://greenitalia.org/un-green-new-deal-italiano-per-uscire-dalla-crisi-2/
https://www.sunrisemovement.org/2018/
http://thewowstyle.com/33-beautiful-sunrise-and-sunset-pictures/
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