While I applaud the direction proposed in the Green New Deal resolution, it simply does not go far enough. The hard truth is that we must keep more fossil fuels in the ground. Not only that, we must redouble our efforts to keep forests standing \u2014 a critical yet oft-overlooked factor in the only promising equations to stop climate catastrophe.<\/p>\n
There are two promising paths toward a solution: cut off the billions of dollars still flowing into fossil fuel extraction and expansion; and strengthen the rights of indigenous and frontline communities, which has consistently been proven to be one of the most efficient ways to properly manage forests and natural resources.<\/p>\n
On October 8, 2018, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change\u2019s (IPCC) report<\/a> was released \u2014 and it did not pull any punches. The report clearly states that if global temperatures rise by 1.5\u00b0 Celsius, the impacts will be much worse than previously predicted. The report also said that to have a reasonable chance of staying under 1.5\u00b0 we must immediately embark on an unprecedented global effort to reshape our economic priorities over the next 12 years. As the biggest carbon polluter in history, the U.S. largely owns this problem \u2014 therefore we must lead in the solution.<\/p>\n \n Regrettably, recent remarks by Senator Feinstein and House Speaker Pelosi dismissing the Green New Deal show that even those often considered allies in the fight against catastrophic climate change are unwilling to marry urgency with action. \u201cIf we wait until 2050 to make change, then our Earth is going to die. We will quite literally have an apocalypse,\u201d said<\/a> 16-year-old Isha Clarke, one of the youths who confronted Sen. Feinstein asking for her support of a Green New Deal. The bottom line is that we need politicians to stand up and fight back against the corporate special interest groups that are compromising our future.<\/p>\n The science is clear. Emissions just from the oil, gas and coal reserves already in production would take the world well beyond 1.5\u00b0 Celsius. And standing forests, particularly tropical forests, are under constant threat of destruction for profit \u2014\u00a0despite the fact that they are some of the best protection against climate change that we have (intact forests act as critical carbon sinks, keeping carbon out of our atmosphere).<\/p>\n