Pass or No Pass
by: Max Alves
Green New Deal
Recently there has been a lot of debate about the Green New Deal. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it worth it? Should we pass the Green New Deal? Well, the planet is hurting now, but it will be way worse if we do nothing. From the poles losing their ice to warm beaches losing all their coral and to the human world experiencing setbacks in the economy to more people suffering from heat related illness. As David Roberts puts it “Trillions of dollars, millions of lives, irreversible forever, changes that cannot be undone in centuries.” (Green New Deal explained). No matter how you look at it nowhere and no one is safe.
Temperatures are rising exponentially, this poses challenges for nature and humans alike, and our window to stop all of this is closing. There are already problems, but global warming is soon to get much worse. So, we must do something right? That is what the Green New Deal is for. The Green New Deal addresses climate change and would attempt to get the US to net 0 carbon emissions by 2030. Well, that is great and all, but it is more complicated than that. To prevent a huge problem like this you need to make sacrifices. But do the benefits outweigh the sacrifices? In general Democrats say yes and Republicans say no (I emphasize the generally because there are Democrats against and Republicans for). Mitch McConnell, for example, is outspokenly against while Bernie Sanders is outspokenly for the Green New Deal. However, while the Green New Deal addresses climate change there is a second part to it, “the second part is a set of promises for how Americans will be protected in the switch away from fossil fuels,” (“Green New Explained").
Switching gears just a little... It is the governments job to ensure that you and everyone else in the country lives in a stable world where we don’t have to lose money to climate change and also, you and everyone else have a right to life (as stated in the Declaration of Independence) and climate change could definitely kill us if we do nothing about it. On top of that, the government is supposed to be by and of the people and according to the Pew Research Center “two thirds of Americans think that the government should do more on climate change”. Furthermore it is also the governments job to make America a better place and America will also benefit from passing the Green New Deal in a number of ways. Therefore, the American government has a responsibility to pass the Green New Deal!
What will happen if we do nothing?
One major reason that we should pass the Green New Deal is because of what will happen if we don’t: nature and humans suffering alike. There are countless things that will happen to animals and their habitats if we don’t take a stand. According to Alan Buis of NASA’s Global Climate Change group, warming temperatures will cause coral to completely die out, more and worse wildfires, habitat loss, biodiversity loss, sea level rise and more dead zones in the ocean, (A Degree of Concern). The WWF (World Wildlife Found) backs many of these up, with the addition that there will sometimes be iceless summers in the arctic ("Our Planet is Warming").
Really let that sink in. No more coral, forest fires killing so many innocent animals, animals having to leave their homes or suffer the consequences (many not having other places to go to), our ecosystems losing parts of their food chain, which will affect the animals reliant on that species. More places in the ocean that will not be able to support most aquatic life, because there is not enough oxygen in the water. The arctic animals not having the ice that they need to survive. All that because of us. All that because we humans wanted more and more and more, and we never did anything to help the animals whose lives we were destroying. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that to be our legacy. So, we need to do something and quick because these problems are not that far into the future.
Now it is not just animals lives that are at stake here, humans too will be harshly affected by Climate Change. Some of the problems humanity will face are: deadly heatwaves, heat related illness, water stress, flooding risk, food availability and losses to the economy: “United States could lose 2.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product for each degree Celsius increase in global warming”(A Degree of Concern). The WWF also backs many of these up (Our Planet is Warming).
So many of those impacts threaten people's lives. Developed countries won’t be hit as hard as developing countries. However, people in poorer countries will see that and it is likely that there will be a spike in mass migration. Then there are those economic impacts. Between the costs of health care and the damage done to other industries there will be trillions of dollars lost. So, the world at this point is pretty crazy and I am pretty sure that by now it is obvious that we need to avoid it. Currently there is a lot that needs to be done. So we need one of the most powerful governments in the world to step up and pass the Green New Deal!
What will happen if we pass?
Apart from helping animals and the general wellbeing of the planet, America too will benefit in other ways by passing the Green New Deal.
Getting to 0 emissions means that many industries will be flat out destroyed and this means losing jobs. When people’s jobs are lost that means financial insecurity. That is why “the second part” of the Green New Deal “is a set of promises for how Americans will be protected In the switch away from fossil fuels” (“Green New Deal, explained). Additionally, “jobs guaranteed, public employment, universal health care, education and training. The basic elements of economic freedom that out to be promised and due to every citizen of the richest country in the world,” (“Green New Deal, explained). An organization called “The Balance” also says that Green New Deal promises these things but goes into more detail about what these jobs could be, “installing solar panels, retrofitting coastal infrastructure, and manufacturing electric vehicles” all good jobs. It also adds that the Green New Deal could implement a universal basic income. As The Balance puts it “It pays enough to cover the cost of living”(Amadeo, Kimberly).
All across America the people will benefit from the Green New Deal. Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness it is right there in the Constitution. The promises of the Green New Deal support some of Americas most important ideals. The right to live and not fear for your life and the right to live your life the way you want to. Also helping people is in your best interests. “The more people that are well off the better your own life is”(A Selfish Argument for Making the World a Better Place). I would love to quote Kurzgesagt more and explain this topic but that would deserve its own paper. Basically, the Green New Deal benefits all Americans. If that is not a great reason to pass it I don't know what is.
When there are drastic changes to an economy often times the rich can get richer and the poor get poorer. This is not what we want to happen, “so the Green New Deal says we should rebuild the American economy in a way that allows opportunity to flow more fairly”("Green New Deal explained").
Basically, while we are redoing the economy we might as well rebuild it in a way that fixes many of its problems. I don’t know what this sounds like to you but to me this sounds like building a better world. On top of that being the leader that America is we can inspire the rest of the world to follow in our footsteps to create a better world.
Is it worth it?
However, despite this there are many that are against the Green New Deal. You may be one of them. Two of the main reasons people are against the Green New Deal is because it is going to cost trillions of dollars and lose tons of jobs.
it is correct that the Green New Deal will cost trillions of dollars, “$51–$93 trillion over the next decade”(Green New Deal). The Green New Deal will also lose tons of jobs. However, I have already talked about how the lost jobs will be replaced by what I believe to be better or equal ones. As for the trillions of dollars, Climate Change also has a cost. “The cost of meeting 1.5 degrees rises dramatically - from 1.3 trillion dollars per year of inaction in 2010 to over 5 trillion dollars per year in 2020.”( Sanderson, Benjamin M., and Brian C. O’Neill)
This means that from 2020 every year of inaction will cost us $5 trillion or more a year in the long run! So, although the Green New Deal costs a ton of money so does doing nothing. So, would you rather spend around $51-93 trillion on the Green New Deal, bettering America in so many ways, in the next 10 years or lose $50 trillion or more in the next 10 years? Note that after those 10 years we will continue to lose money, and not get any benefits of the Green New Deal. I think the answer should be quite clear.
Finally!
The world is changing fast and is giving us new and more difficult problems to overcome. We need to avoid a climate crisis while keeping the economy intact and not hurting the American people. If we do nothing and don’t pass the Green New Deal then the world will suffer. From the Arctic losing its ice to coral reefs becoming extinct, to the loss of trillions and trillions of dollars. If we do pass the Green New Deal not only will we be taking the first step towards a sustainable future but we will also be benefiting the economy and people’s lives. Also America needs to lead in action against Climate Change to inspire the rest of the world to follow in its footsteps. America, for so many reasons, needs to pass the Green New Deal. Climate Change is a huge problem and we need everyone educated and ready to take action so with your new knowledge, talk to your friends, spread the word and share this article.
Keep supporting the Green New Deal and together we can build a sustainable future!
Max Alves :)
works cited:
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“Green New Deal, explained.” YouTube, uploaded by Vox. June 12, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIDJWCbk6I&ab_channel=Vox
“A Degree of Concern: Why Global Temperatures Matter – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, 19 June 2019, climate.nasa.gov/news/2878/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/.
“Our Planet Is Warming. Here's What's at Stake If We Don't Act Now.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/stories/our-planet-is-warming-here-s-what-s-at-stake-if-we-don-t-act-now.
Sanderson, Benjamin M., and Brian C. O’Neill. “Assessing the Costs of Historical Inaction on Climate Change.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 8 June 2020, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66275-4#:~:text=The cost of meeting 1.5,dollars per year in 2020.
Amadeo, Kimberly. “The Green New Deal and How It Boosts the Economy.” The Balance, 23 Mar. 2021, www.thebalance.com/green-new-deal-4582071.
“Green New Deal.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_New_Deal#:~:text=In February 2019, the center,cost at $600,000 per household.
“A Selfish Argument for Making the World a Better Place.” YouTube, uploaded by kurzgesagt. Mar 18, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvskMHn0sqQ
Tyson, Alec, and Brian Kennedy. “Two-Thirds of Americans Think Government Should Do More on Climate.” Pew Research Center Science & Society, Pew Research Center, 8 Mar. 2021, www.pewresearch.org/science/2020/06/23/two-thirds-of-americans-think-government-should-do-more-on-climate/.