Democrats have introduced a bold new environmental proposal called the Green New Deal. The plan, in part, calls for the launch of a “10-year mobilization” – something of a moonshot, if you will – to reduce carbon emissions in the United States.
Most Democratic leaders acknowledge that it is, in part, aspirational. But so was a mid-20th century plan to put a man on the moon. So was ramping up steel production to win World War II. When did America give up on being aspirational, especially when several energy experts and economists have said this plan is within the realm of technological possibility – maybe not all in 10 years, but perhaps 15 or 20?
Republicans are mocking it – especially President Donald Trump.
“They want to take away your car, reduce the value of your home and put millions of Americans out of work,” Trump said at a recent MAGA rally, deriding the plan as a “high school term paper that got a low mark.”
No, they don’t want to take your car. They want to make your future car run on something besides gasoline and diesel fuel – something like electricity, powered by the sun, the wind, water or nuclear energy. And, by the way, already at least 37 percent of electricity in the United States comes from zero-carbon sources, including 20 percent from nuclear power. In the Tennessee Valley, 54 percent of power already is generated carbon-free.