The Real with the GND
Temperatures are rising, glaciers are melting, and our time left on earth is clocking down everyday as we spiral downwards into peril. Perhaps this may be an exaggeration but headlines flooded the media in recent years with “record breaking temperatures” and unusual shifts in the weather. The nightmare turned reality called climate change is happening before our very eyes and we are forced to face the consequences before it’s too late.
Last October, the United Nations published a startling statement about the earth’s environmental state with scientific data to back it up. The greatest takeaway from this report was that, if we continue down this path of lacking empathy and irresponsible energy consumption, earth will become virtually unlivable in by 2030. .
In that same vein, this wake-up call comes as no surprise. With a boom in population, corporations, and the demand for energy, our greenhouse gas emissions went through the roof and researchers have been warning us for decades to begin reducing our energy usage and reverse the damage we have done. According to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), emissions need to be cut down by 45% or we are headed towards “catastrophic climate change”.
The increase in greenhouse gas emissions began with the Industrial Revolution where humans switched from coal to fossil fuels as a source of energy to fuel everything. The carbon dioxide bi-product from burning fossil fuels interrupted the natural gas cycle in the atmosphere by adding heat which was meant to be left out for good reason.
As a result, we will see disaster unfold even more as the increasing global temperature destroys food agriculture because crops will be unable to grow in the hot conditions. Many are aware of this serious threat before the UN report was published like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) who is currently fighting her proposal in Congress for a Green New Deal.
The “Green New Deal” or GND is coined after Theodore Roosevelt’s “New Deal” which revitalized the economy after The Great Depression hit in the 1930’s. This instance is a repetition oh how dire our need is for positive change. Although it may lead us to a long arduous future ahead, it will prevent us from destroying our beautiful home in 12 years.
Ocasio-Cortez wants to change government laws with a nationwide sweeping program similar to FDR’s New Deal. Here are a few of her demands in further detail:
As technology is well over advanced enough already, there will be cleaner energy practices created for farmers funded by government mody to create. Additionally, there will be stronger support for smaller family farms and less for mainstream corporations.
Creating new jobs for individuals in lower income areas for positive public change matched “with a family sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security,”no matter who you are.
Implementing progressive tax policies to fix rampant inequality and greenhouse gas emissions. Money would be dispersed more fairly. The new investments will generate for the other 90% who aren’t as rich.
All citizens of the United States will have access to quality health care.
The New York democratic certainly thought out her plan and she’s ambitious about it. To help her fight for a cleaner, more sustainable future and a robust economy, please sign this petition and we can hopefully move towards addressing the climate crisis.