With data indicating that the economic fallout from the coronavirus will equate to that of the Great Depression, there is no better time to rethink the way we as a society earn our livings, treat each
other and take care of our planet. We live in scarily reminiscent times. We wonder what the future will hold, if we will be able to feed our families, how things will change outside of our control. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
FDR’s New Deal was a promise to our country to uphold the pinnacle principle of democracy, equal opportunity, and to dig the U.S. out of the economic hole that devastated people’s lives, families and communities. It championed worker’s rights, aid for those in poverty, and led to the creation of infrastructure that continues to power our country today.
The Green New Deal is an adaptation of those same principles: environmentally and socially friendly solutions to economic problems. The GND integrates both economic equality and environmental stewardship by establishing the goal of attaining carbon neutrality by 2050. Reaching this goal will necessitate new infrastructure, high paying jobs and adaptable community-driven policy.
Adopting the Green New Deal will be an investment in long-term solutions to issues we’ve put off for far too long. Old-economy corporate entities profit from perpetuating the idea that we cannot afford to invest in renewable infrastructure. However, states like Vermont have moved to enact GND policies are already seeing sustainable profitable gains. Investing in a world we feel proud to occupy is both feasible and necessary.
As the saying goes, we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. On this Earth Day, let’s take care of our fellow Montanans and our beautiful state by adopting a Green New Deal.
Amelia Fountain
Bozeman
Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Letter to the Editor, 5/1/20