As many may already know, the United States is one of the most impactful countries on climate change. In 2017 alone, the U.S. released 5.1 billion metric tons of carbon emission. After learning about the effect of climate change on a global level, various countries have started to recognize their contributions to it and what they can do to stop it. The 2015 Paris Agreement was established as a possible solution and the United States took part in it. Although many countries are in the agreement, the net amount of carbon emission is increasing globally.
Because climate change is now a trending topic in politics, there have been multiple plan proposals for a cleaner future. One of the most popular and debated plans is the Green New Deal, proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a representative from New York. The name comes from Franklin Roosevelt’s plan, the New Deal, which was also a plan that was created to solve a national problem. The Green New Deal aims to drastically decrease the amount of emissions from the United States within ten years. In order to do this, the U.S. needs to convert much of our energy sources to renewable sources, such as the wind and sun. This conversion will benefit the country in the long run because these zero-emission sources are more energy efficient. Because renewable sources only make up about twenty percent of the energy sources in the U.S., many companies and people will be affected by the Green New Deal. People in specific industries, such as the fossil fuel industry, will lose their jobs. Foreseeing the consequences, the Green New Deal prepares new job opportunities for those that would experience obstacles as a result. There will be more jobs in the clean energy industries with appealing aspects, such as a high salary and good benefits. These jobs are meant to encourage workers to transfer to occupations in clean energy companies so that the U.S. can rely more on clean energy. Through this transfer, the Green New Deal hopes to remedy economic inequality. People will have opportunities to work in higher paying jobs, which will elevate their economic status. This new growth will create many more jobs in the U.S., advancing the economy of the country.
More specific methods of converting to clean energy would include modernizing cities and transportation systems, and improving the way of taking care of livestock. Buildings and houses would be built and remodeled to be more energy efficient. They would rely on a patchwork electrical system that exists in the U.S. but is not extensive. The goal is to extend this system for clean energy in buildings nationwide. Many modes of transportation, such as automobiles and planes, require energy from fossil fuels. In order to change that, electrical vehicles and high speed rails would be encouraged as alternate modes of transportation. More charging stations for cars and high speed rails would be built, which would decrease our reliability on fossil fuels. A substantial amount of our carbon emission is from greenhouse gases. One of the greenhouse gases is methane, a gas produced by cows and other livestock. In order to lessen the amount of methane, the government would either limit the livestock or create new technologies that would help decrease methane. Also, the government would support family farms and other businesses that may have been largely impacted by the transition.
Although this plan is beneficial to the country in the long run regarding environmental health and economy, there are short term consequences. This transition will cost trillions of dollars, which is a large sum for the government. The affected people will also need time to adapt to the immense change, looking for new jobs and relying on different sources of energy. The United States will have to sacrifice certain things in the present for the future.
In conclusion, there is the looming threat of climate change, and countries need to take action to prevent further damage to the earth. The Green New Deal is one of the widely known plans that are meant for the prevention. Although not all the aspects of the plan are ideal, it is a good start to put an end to our country’s contribution to climate change.