Ocasio-Cortez Green New Deal

[Lamb]

Is it crazy or is it genius?

Ocasio-Cortez forced to clarify Green New Deal details after rollout

Why the Green New Deal Rollout Was Kind of a Mess

"But then there was the unofficial version. Early in the day, Ocasio-Cortez’s office sent out a FAQ to reporters that read a bit like the Green New Deal Uncensored—as if the resolution had gotten drunk at an office party decided to tell its co-workers exactly what it thought of them. Nuclear? On its way out. “It’s unclear if we will be able to decommission every nuclear plant within 10 years, but the plan is to transition off of nuclear and all fossil fuels as soon as possible.” Carbon capture tech? Not a priority. “We believe the right way to capture carbon is to plant trees and restore our natural ecosystems. CCUS technology to date has not proven effective.” The document even seemed to set its sights on air travel and beef. “We set a goal to get to net-zero, rather than zero emissions, in 10 years because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to fully get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast.” To top everything off, the FAQ suggested Washington could pay for the plan essentially by printing money, thereby going full Modern Monetary Theory."

 

[tango]

I wonder if she will lead by example any more than the rest of the politicians who seemed to have a passion for flying (first class, naturally) to exotic locations to come up with new ways to tell the rest of us that we can't have our economy-class trip any more.

I think it was John Kerry who was quoted as saying Americans would have to get used to the idea of not having air conditioning any more. Sounds like a good idea to me, I assume the good folks in Congress planned to lead by example and turn off their own air conditioners first, right?

Who knows, maybe she'll even have a plan that isn't a very long and elaborate way of saying "we're going to give all our money to China".

 

[Lamb]

Rumor has it she has a movie deal now...will she be in that top 70% she wants to tax at some point?

 

[tango]

Rumor has it she has a movie deal now...will she be in that top 70% she wants to tax at some point?

Who knows.

I'd really like to see some green approach that works with people rather than endlessly telling everyone they have to stop doing this or that. As long as green policies increase costs people will resist them. It makes so much more sense to at least start with things that align with the self-interest of the masses. As I've often said I look for energy-efficient options because it saves me money. Call me selfish, but saving me money works for me right here and right now. Ever-more dire warnings about rising sea levels, especially when the people making them own oceanfront properties, is just some vague future threat that may or may not be affected by whether I leave my lights on overnight. But my electricity bill comes every month and if I can save some energy then I've got more money to do the things I want. Likewise I insulate my house because it means it costs less to heat it - it saves me money right here and right now, and may have an incidental benefit of not causing a crop failure in Bangladesh in 50 years time.

Instead we get the self-righteous brigade wagging their fingers and telling us about what we have to stop doing, while that very same self-righteous brigade apparently has no trouble driving their car to Wally World to buy the latest doodads shipped in from China.