By Julia Foote
You’ve probably heard some buzz about the Green New Deal recently, whether it be praise, criticism, or just plain confusion. Before we get any deeper, let’s set the record straight: The Green New Deal in its current form is not a policy; it’s a resolution. It lays out the goals, aspirations, and some specifics of a program that would implement a transformative, historic economic mobilization to solve climate change — one that provides good-paying green jobs, economic growth, and equity for all. The resolution was introduced to Congress on February 7, 2019 by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey. The Senate voted the resolution down on March 26, but there is a strong movement still behind it that continues to grow and needs mass support.
A “Road to the Green New Deal” tour recently made its way around the country to spread the word about the resolution and build support through informative, community-organized town halls. These town halls were primarily led by members of the Sunrise organization, with partners like the Sierra Club helping out. Sunrise is a nationwide movement of young people who work to make climate change an urgent priority across America, end the corrupting influence of fossil fuel executives on our politics, and elect leaders who stand up for the health and wellbeing of all people.
Over the past couple of months, members of Sunrise have organized 10 town halls in the Bay Area to bring the conversation about the Green New Deal to our communities. The Oakland Town Hall was held on April 24th at Sierra Club’s national headquarters, and organized by Sunrise members Willa, an artist, educator, and mother living in Oakland, and Kobi, a beekeeper and account manager designing solar systems at CivicSolar in uptown Oakland. We asked them a couple of questions to debrief on the town halls.
What is your elevator pitch for the Green New Deal?
WILLA: Climate change is a global emergency and the clock is ticking. We have ten years to radically re-imagine and re-create every aspect of our daily life to avoid a cataclysmic chain reaction of collapse. Yes, it’s cause for panic, but not paralysis. We must act, and we must act now. The kind of action we need isn’t unprecedented. We have mobilized massive, coordinated, impressive legislation in the past, when faced with crises. Just like the New Deal [of the 1930s], the Green New Deal will transform our economy and environment at a scale and rate that meets the scale and rate of this crisis.
What did the audience at your town hall look like? Who was there, and who was missing?
KOBI: We had phenomenal attendance at our town hall, bringing together more than 130 people — from high schoolers to retirees.
WILLA: We had an amazing turnout from local community members. In the future, we will try to have more lead time to recruit and support participation from more attendees from frontline and under-resourced communities.
What do you feel people learned or walked away with?
KOBI: Everyone who came to the town hall left having taken concerted action to encourage Rep. Nancy Pelosi to support the Green New Deal and armed with information to promote and reach out to their own communities about the Green New Deal.
WILLA:I think folks left feeling less alone and more connected to a community of people who are ready to do whatever it takes to address this crisis.
How can folks support this movement?
KOBI: The time to turn up the heat on addressing the climate crisis is now! We’ve all got to work hard to ensure that the 2020 election is a referendum on climate. Everyone should encourage their representatives to support the Green New Deal. And the Sunrise movement could use some donations to keep the work going!
Photos courtesy Morissa Zuckerman.