The (Anti-Environment) Green New Deal

Member Group : Jerry Shenk

Emailed reproaches from a few fractious, self-styled “environmentalists” about an essay entitled, “The real deal behind the Green New Deal,” inspired a deeper dive into the GND that uncovered some anti-environmental consequences.

First, the internet is forever, so complaints that the commentary included hacked, misrepresented or out-of-context material are nonsense. The GND document’s internet metadata identified its government-account, congressional staff originator who subsequently admitted issuing it, and its original text is preserved online.

Green New Deal promises do include, among a host of alleged benefits, “economic security” for those “unwilling to work,” income parity, public housing, free higher education, racial and social “justice,” government health care, “healthy food,” and unspecified improvements for “indigenous peoples,” “migrants,” women, LsGsBs&Ts, family farmers, youth and the elderly. Apparently, “environmentalists” think that most Americans are oppressed in some insidious way.

Unsurprisingly, email critics couldn’t connect any of those to environmental objectives. Comically, live interviews at a Green New Deal rally revealed that its supporters have no idea how the GND would prevent climate change.

To be fair, though, they can’t explain “climate change,” either.

Calling the GND’s few, totally unrealistic climate-related features “unicorn” fantasies insults unicorns everywhere. In fact, enacting the GND’s “environmental” mandates would mean a complete makeover – takeover, really – of America’s economic system and the mass extinction of personal choices and freedoms. The Green New Deal is exactly like Soviet planning, only with less practicality than the Soviet Central Committee typically considered.

The GND calls for meeting “100 percent of the power demand of the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources” in ten years. That would require phasing-out all gas-, coal- and oil-fueled power plants and replacing them with often-unreliable wind and solar sources that currently produce substantially less than 10 percent of America’s energy needs.

Gas (and ethanol) internal combustion engines — autos, lawnmowers, chain saws, snow blowers, aircraft, heavy equipment, etc. – would be gone in a decade.

Your home and every other structure in your community? Retrofitted or rebuilt by 2030.

Say goodbye to millions of jobs in the energy, airframe, mining, transportation and related sectors.

Farting cows, beef protein? Poof!

One GND defender insisted, “America must set bold environmental objectives.”

Oh? Then “objectify” this: Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of square miles of often-unreliable windmills and solar panels would be needed to even begin to meet America’s growing energy demands, so, to implement GND policies in ten years, environmental impact studies that currently take years to prepare, approve and, often, litigate must be scrapped. In order to approve wind and solar projects quickly, federal, state and local environmental statutes, permitting procedures and land use plans, the Clean Water Act’s wetlands regulations, and habitat protections in the Endangered Species Act must be eliminated.

Pretty bold, huh?

So, GND enthusiasts, tell us, is the Green New Deal really about the environment? Or is it just another gimmick invented to hijack America’s economy, impose a socialist regime and restrict or eliminate fellow Americans’ social, economic and personal freedoms?

We’re listening…

https://www.pottsmerc.com/opinion/jerry-shenk-the-anti-environment-green-new-deal/article_4fef0d90-4f6b-11e9-b6ea-df85fbf7635e.html