North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman touts Green New Deal in DC

Farmers, ranchers called ‘partners in solving climate crisis

North Coast U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman joined Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey on Tuesday morning as part of the reintroduction of the Green New Deal.

According to its proponents, Green New Deal legislation seeks to combat climate change and create millions of high-wage jobs in clean industries. The original nonbinding resolution, introduced two years ago, failed to advance in the then-GOP-controlled Senate.

Huffman (D-San Rafael) lauded the Green New Deal for being inclusive of youth and communities of color and said, “Thank you for your impatience.”

“These are voices who understand that the urgency of this crisis demands action that winning slowly, is the same thing as losing,” Huffman said.

“This is our FDR moment,” Markey (D-Massachusetts) said during a news conference, referring to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal that created work programs in the 1930s.

“For the past few years, it’s been proven that the Green New Deal isn’t just a resolution, it is a revolution,” Markey told those gathered near the Washington Monument on Tuesday morning. “Since then, every day revolutionaries have taken to the streets, to the ballot box, to make jobs, justice, and climate action central to our political system.”

Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) said the Green New Deal embraced both climate change initiatives and economic stimulus.

“For so long, our movement towards a sustainable future has been divided with really just this false notion that we have to choose between our planet and our economy,” she said. “And we decided to come together in sweeping legislation that not only rejects that notion, but creates a plan for 20 million union jobs in the United States of America, to rebuild our infrastructure to restore public housing, to make sure that we expand our access not only to EV and EV infrastructure but mass transit.”

Huffman said agriculture can be part of solving the climate crisis.

“The Green New Deal sees American farmers and ranchers as partners in solving the climate crisis,” he said. ” … It has huge potential. if you think about it, we have over 900 million acres of agricultural land in the United States, we have the potential to sequester carbon at a massive scale just by building healthy soils. In my district in Northern California, we’re already showing what this does. It doesn’t just sequester carbon, it has all kinds of multiple benefits. We’re seeing taller grasses, better soil, moisture retention, overall healthier and more productive working landscapes. So farmers and conservationists are just natural partners in this mission to build healthy soils and save the planet.”

Later this week, President Joe Biden is slated to participate in a climate summit with world leaders from 40 countries. Scientists, environmental groups and even business leaders are calling on Biden to set a target that would cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030. Much of the proposed spending to address climate change is included in Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill.

On Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez said Biden deserves “a lot of credit” for his infrastructure plan’s vision and scope, but said it falls far short of what is needed to meaningfully combat the climate crisis. She is calling for at least $10 trillion in federal spending over the next decade to address climate change and other problems.

By:  RUTH SCHNEIDER
Source: Eureka Times Standard

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