Politicians Bickering While The Last Chance To Save Mankind Slips Away?

This morning, AOC and Ed Markey unveiled a first-look Green New Deal resolution. Shortest possible version:

• 100% clean and renewable energy by 2030
• a guaranteed living-wage job for anybody who needs one
• a just transition for both workers and frontline communities

AOC was interviewed by Steve Inskeep for NPR early this morning. Morning Edition published excerpts:

"Even the solutions that we have considered big and bold are nowhere near the scale of the actual problem that climate change presents to us to our country, to the world. And so while carbon taxes are nice while things like cap and trade are nice, it's not what's going to save the planet. It could be part of a larger solution but no one has actually scoped out what that larger solution would entail. And so that's really what we're trying to accomplish."

"We're talking about mobilizing an economy which means creating jobs...we're gonna have a lot of wind energy. We're going to have a lot of solar panels. And I think the goal is to really mobilize as much around renewables as possible."

"This is really about providing justice for communities and just transitions for communities. So really the heart of the Green New Deal is about social justice and it's about allowing and fighting for things like fully-funded pensions for coal miners in West Virginia, fighting for clean water in Flint, and fighting for the ability of indigenous peoples to take a leadership role in in where we're moving as a country."

The resolution itself is leaving many details to be worked out in the sausage-making machine, which worries a vegan like myself. (I used to be a vegan; I eat fish now.) Judging by their statement this morning, I would say Friends of the Earth has some mixed emotions as well:

The Green New Deal is a strong vision for the future, stuck in the politics of today. We enthusiastically endorse the many pieces of the resolution that call for systemic change. But by failing to expressly call for an end of the fossil fuel era, the resolution misses an opportunity to define the scope of the challenge.

We are encouraged by many pieces of the resolution, including the embrace of a federal jobs guarantee, the commitment to worker rights and collective bargaining and recognition that the Green New Deal must be developed from the ground up in collaboration with frontline communities. While incomplete, the resolution is a good first step toward a Green New Deal.

It’s up to the grassroots to keep pushing at every step of this fight for an expansive vision that ends our fossil fuel addiction and solves the climate crisis.

Same for Greenpeace, which says though it stands "behind the effort to create millions of family-sustaining union jobs that protect our nation’s clean air, water and communities while confronting systematic injustices head-on" ... "the fossil fuel industry will not transition willingly and on its own to life-sustaining, renewable practices, because it is determined to trash our planet for its profit no matter the cost. We must make every effort to phase out fossil fuels at the same time as we promote renewable energy if we’re going to make it. Just two days ago in the State of the Union address Trump bragged about an all time high in oil and gas production-- willfully ignoring the global climate crisis and the inequality it exacerbates here in America. This kind of climate denial is exactly why a Green New Deal must include a just and managed phase out of oil, gas and coal, starting in the most overburdened communities. Now is the best time to be bold and confront the industry at the dead center of the climate crisis and most in need of a managed transition."

Oil Change USA's Communications Director, David Turnbull said his group was likewise "encouraged" but that "we already have an international climate agreement that fails to include the words 'fossil fuels'; we can’t afford a Green New Deal that does the same. The science is clear: If the oil, gas, and coal in currently operating wells and mines is dug up and burned, we will blow well past our climate goals. As recent research has shown, the U.S. is on the cusp of an unprecedented surge in oil and gas production at precisely the time we need to be marshalling all of our resources in the opposite direction. It’s critical that we stand with frontline and Indigenous communities fighting fossil fuel infrastructure, and a Green New Deal must not leave these communities behind." Diplomatically, he added that "Today’s resolutions mark the start of a new conversation on climate action in the United States that can finally begin, thanks to the bold leadership shown by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey, and we look forward to engaging fully to ensure a managed decline of fossil fuel production is a key part of that discussion."

Presidential contenders Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren have all immediately jumped onboard. I'm guessing Bernie wants to read it and think about it first. He's old fashioned that way, isn't he? (which is why he should be president and the others shouldn't).

NPR reported that "the framework, as described in the legislation as well as "FAQs" from Ocasio-Cortez's office, calls for a variety of other lofty goals:

▪ "upgrading all existing buildings" in the country for energy efficiency;
▪ working with farmers "to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions... as much as is technologically feasible" (while supporting family farms and promoting "universal access to healthy food");
▪ "Overhauling transportation systems" to reduce emissions — including expanding electric car manufacturing, building "charging stations everywhere," and expanding high-speed rail to "a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary";
▪ A guaranteed job "with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations and retirement security" for every American;
▪ "High-quality health care" for all Americans.

Which is to say: the Green New Deal framework combines big climate-change-related ideas with a wish list of progressive economic proposals that, taken together, would touch nearly every American and overhaul the economy.

Are those ideas doable?

Many in the climate science community, as well as Green New Deal proponents, agree that saving the world from disastrous effects of climate change requires aggressive action.

And some of the Green New Deal's goals are indeed aggressive. For example, Ocasio-Cortez told NPR that "in 10 years, we're trying to go carbon-neutral."

According to Jesse Jenkins, a postdoctoral environmental fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School, that may be an unreachable goal.

"Where we need to be targeting really is a net-zero carbon economy by about 2050, which itself is an enormous challenge and will require reductions in carbon emissions much faster than have been achieved historically," he said. "2030 might be a little bit early to be targeting."

Similarly, removing combustible engines from the roads or expanding high-speed rail to largely eliminate air travel would require nothing short of revolutionizing transportation.

Likewise, some of the more progressive economic policies-- universal health care and a job guarantee, for example-- while popular among some Democrats, would also be very difficult to implement and transition into.

On top of all that, implementing all of these policies could costs trillions upon trillions of dollars.

Altogether, the Green New Deal is a loose framework-- it does not lay out guidance on how to implement these policies.

Rather, the idea is that Ocasio-Cortez and Markey will "begin work immediately on Green New Deal bills to put the nuts and bolts on the plan described in this resolution."

...So will it pass?

That looks unlikely.

Yes, there's some energy for it on the left-- some House Democrats have already said they will support the bill. However, there are indications House leadership isn't prioritizing the idea as much as those more liberal Democrats would like-- Speaker Nancy Pelosi frustrated Green New Deal proponents by not giving them the kind of committee they wanted to put the policies together.

In addition, it's easy to see how the bill could be dangerous for moderate House Democrats, many of whom come from swing districts and may be loath to touch such a progressive proposal.

Among Republicans-- even those worried about climate change-- the package, with its liberal economic ideas, will also likely be a nonstarter.

"Someone's going to have to prove to me how that can be accomplished because it looks to me like for the foreseeable future we're gonna be using a substantial amount of fossil fuels," said Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL), co-chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, speaking to NPR before the Green New Deal's text was released.

For his part, Rooney is in favor of a carbon tax, a policy he helped propose with a bipartisan group of lawmakers in November. Information from Ocasio-Cortez's office says that the Green New Deal could include a carbon tax, but that it would be "a tiny part" of the total package of policies.

Meanwhile, there's little chance of a Green New Deal getting a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.

If it's not going to pass and it's not even binding, why is it worth even talking about?

It's worth talking about because it already is a politically powerful idea among Democrats.

Already, presidential candidates are being asked whether they support the idea of a Green New Deal, meaning it's easy to see the issue becoming a litmus test for some voters in both the 2020 congressional elections and the presidential election.

To more liberal Democrats, the prospect of such an ambitious economic and environmental package at the center of the 2020 campaign may be particularly energizing.

"I think it's like a really weird instinct that the Democratic Party develops to not be exciting intentionally," said Sean McElwee, co-founder of the progressive think tank Data for Progress. "Most of politics is getting people excited enough to show up and vote for you. And I think that a Green New Deal and Medicare for All-- these are ideas that are big enough to get people excited and show up to vote for you."

For her part, Ocasio-Cortez says that a policy like the Green New Deal could get voters excited enough to pressure their Congress members to support it.

"I do think that when there's a wide spectrum of debate on an issue, that is where the public plays a role. That is where the public needs to call their member of Congress and say, 'This is something that I care about,' " she told NPR, adding, "Where I do have trust is in my colleagues' capacity to change and evolve and be adaptable and listen to their constituents."

That said, it's easy to see how a Green New Deal litmus test could backfire on that front, endangering some Democrats-- particularly in swing districts.

But, it's not just about national politics. The national-level energy for a Green New Deal could boost efforts in cities and states. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, for example, has been pushing a Green New Deal in his state.

Aside from the politics, of course, there's the fact that climate change remains an impending threat-- one for which the world has yet to come up with a fix.

"It's a big legislation because it's a huge [expletive] problem! We're all going to die," said McElwee. "Every week it seems like the the risks of climate change become more real, and the amount of devastation it is going to wreak upon humanity becomes larger, and that means we have to do bigger things."

Pelosi Does Some Things Well... But Basically She's A Useless Asshole And Servant Of Humanity's Mortal Enemies

Yes, she's better than Trump and that applauding thing she did at the SOTU was so cool, but...

She named the Democrats who will serve on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, a pathetic array of mostly corporate whores, Joe Neguse and maybe Mike Levin being the exceptions. She dared to leave Alexandria Ocasio Cortez off the committee, a challenge that progressives should not let pass by unanswered. I hope that she did that is on her tombstone, but I hope it isn't on mankind's.

The utterly useless committee: Ben Ray Luján (Pure Garbage, No Better Than Trump-NM), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Julia Brownley (worthless New Dem crap-CA), Sean Casten (New Dem-IL), Jared Huffman (Moderate-CA), Mike Levin (D-CA), Donald McEachin (Sad-VA) and Joe Neguse (The World Is Counting On You-CO). And, of course, the chair, Kathy Castor (D-FL). Expect Less than ZERO and you won't be disappointed.