QUICK NEWS, December 18: The New Green Deal Is Shutdown Serious; New Energy Beats The Market

The New Green Deal Is Shutdown Serious This is what a government shutdown over climate change would look like

Eric Holthaus, December 17, 2018 (Grist)

“…[The president says a border wall to limit immigration is worth a government shutdown and some say [Green New Dealers should think about climate change as an existential threat that deserves the same commitment]…The first step would be making climate change a core and unrelenting talking point of the party’s platform — and then winning elections specifically with a populist mandate to take immediate, large-scale action on it…The policy platform that has emerged from [midterm] electoral wins — the Green New Deal — has already pushed the larger Democratic Party to quickly consider positions that would have been deemed outright radical just a few months ago, like a nationwide 100 percent renewable energy mandate by 2030 and a green jobs guarantee. This kind of rapid shift in dialogue is consistent with the “moon shot” approach that scientists say is necessary to prevent catastrophic warming…

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…Highly visible groups of young people, led by the Sunrise Movement, have already made clear that they’re not going to go easy on Democratic leadership if it ignores climate change…[Policy change could emerge] if its members continue speaking with clear, moral language inspired by past civil rights struggles…Likely incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi promised dialogue with Sunrise protesters, though she’s yet to agree to the protesters’ request to direct a special committee explicitly to develop a Green New Deal plan…[Senate] Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has already made clear that a Green New Deal is the only way forward…[and] Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey became the second likely Democratic presidential contender (along with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders) to endorse the idea of the sweeping program…[but it will still require a massive push from voters…” click here for more

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New Energy Beats The Market Renewable Energies Are Finally Becoming Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels

Annie Qureshi, December 17, 2018 (Blue & Green Tomorrow)

“…[Not that long ago, New Energy was] expensive and just not feasible in an economic sense…A 1994 article by Harvard Business Review suggested it might be nearly impossible…[But wind and solar] have become cheaper and more efficient…[and] the construction of coal and gas power plants is more inefficient than the new wind and solar systems…[Moving away from] fossil fuels causes unrest in many countries…[and many] economists] say the 100 percent conversion to renewable energy will cost the global economy billions of dollars…[They forget that not transitioning] will cost the world more in natural disasters and death…

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A crucial step in the reduction of greenhouse gases is the rapid replacement of coal, oil, and gas with renewable energies…The simple reason for the superiority of solar and wind power over conventional extractive industries, such as oil and gas, is that extractive models inevitably run out, increasing costs…In contrast, there is plenty of sun and wind…[T]he green energy generation model is about rising yields and falling costs…This change will be among the most significant human transformations ever, on par with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the Information Age in the 1990s. The only thing that could kill these developments dead in their tracks is government subsidies for coal, oil, gas or nuclear power – even if this is at the expense of the planet…” click here for more

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