The Green New Deal & Contributing to a Greener Nation

Riley Burke - Contributing Writer

Posted on Sunday 17th February 2019

 

New reports released in early January of this year highlight that the United States, a nation responsible for contributing approximately 20% to global emissions, experienced a 3.5% increase in their own carbon dioxide emissions throughout 2018. [1] Correspondingly, in that last year, the US experienced fourteen weather and climate events that each ended up costing the economy at least a billion dollars. [2] In 2017, this same figure was slightly higher at sixteen, raising the average of these type of events to approximately 12.5 in the last five years, compared to an average of 6.2 since 1980. [3] The more than doubling of these events supports the cause and effect model of increasing greenhouse gas emissions to the rising number of costly climate disasters. As a result of this and the many other contributing factors to the issue of global climate change, some Congressional Democrats have called to the need of a new environmental policy, most notably the Green New Deal.

What is the Green New Deal?

     The Green New Deal is a fourteen page resolution, proposed by Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that, upon the plans completion, would result in a net of zero emissions in the US, create millions of jobs for the people, establish investments in infrastructure and industry, secure a clean and resilient country for generations to come, and help promote equity for at risk communities and groups. [4] As of now, Cortez and other drafters of the plan have proposed no real solid estimate for how much this plan would cost the country, instead suggesting that the plan could be paid for by taxing the richest citizens at sixty to seventy percent and taxing carbon emissions. [5] However, before any bill can be proposed to Congress, advocates for the bill would either have to sit down themselves or form a committee of representatives dedicated to figuring out the most intricate details, including everything from specific and practical benchmarks that would indicate the progress made to the impacts that such an investment would have on the US economy in the short and long term. This point is one of extreme importance, as with a divided Congress the bill will most likely not pass unless the economic and social impacts are considered to the satisfaction of both the Republican and Democrat agendas.

Is the Green New Deal achievable?

     Considering the long term climate disaster savings of the United States alone, the environmental costs to the Green New Deal make it worthwhile to achieve. A recent EPA study found that simply adapting the nation's roads and railways to the damages experienced from the more volatile climate would cost upwards of $280 billion by the end of this century. [6] In addition to avoiding future costs, a Green New Deal could even benefit the economy through its investments in a national smart, energy efficient grid to mitigate pollution, which would generate 1.1 million jobs in its first year. [7]

     However, a major point of criticism arguably holding the Green New Deal back from taking its next step in becoming law has been its implications towards socialist policies that a divided Congress would not support. To explain, although brief, the current resolution directly states the smaller goals of providing all people in the US with higher education, high-quality healthcare, and “economic security”, among others. [8] These proposals are a cause for concern for some who now view the resolution at an attempt to ignite socialist policies in the US instead of their advertised purpose of saving the environment. If final drafts of the plan were to remove these implications of heavy investment into a variety of social programs, then the Green New Deal would gain much more bipartisan support, as its true purpose of saving money and the planet could still be achieved without its underlying political agenda.

How can individual citizens contribute to a greener United States?

     In every home and company, there are countless opportunities for citizens to make more eco-friendly decisions while also saving themselves money. For example, investing in LED lights in both homes and businesses is not only energy efficient, but also can help a consumer save money. Further, residential LEDs have been found to be so efficient to the extent of using at least 75% less energy while also lasting approximately 25 times longer as compared to traditional lighting methods. [9] Additionally, current predictions suggest that if LEDs usage grows to be widespread, then by 2027 the United States could gross a total savings of $30 billion. [10] Buying LED lights for a home or business is something that every individual can do in order to not only save themselves money, but also to save the environment by making the world more energy efficient. Independence LED Lighting is an example of a company producing made in USA LED fixtures that save energy and create domestic jobs.

Along with lighting, air conditioning typically uses the largest percentage of energy for commercial buildings. Revolution Energy Group is an example of a US company that focuses on providing multiple cost-effective solutions including air conditioning optimization. One of their strategic partners uses proven algorithms that save 15% to 40% and do not require replacing any commercial chillers for central cooling systems.

In addition to LEDs and air conditioning optimization, there are a wide variety of other possible changes a person can make in their life to contribute to a greener United States. Some of these examples include buying phosphate and nitrate free detergents to prevent algal blooms, buying locally grown organic food products, and limiting driving only to when absolutely necessary to reduce one’s carbon footprint. 

References

[1]https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46801108

[2]https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/

[3]https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/

[4]https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/sites/ocasio-cortez.house.gov/files/Resolution%20on%20a%20Green%20New%20Deal.pdf

[5]https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/04/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-floats-wealth-tax-to-pay-for-green-new-deal.html

[6]https://www.dataforprogress.org/green-new-deal

[7]https://www.dataforprogress.org/green-new-deal

[8]https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/sites/ocasio-cortez.house.gov/files/Resolution%20on%20a%20Green%20New%20Deal.pdf

[9]https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/led-lighting

[10]https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/save-electricity-and-fuel/lighting-choices-save-you-money/led-lighting

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