February 7, 2019
Green New Deal Needs More Green to Make Good on the Name
Markey/Ocasio-Cortez Resolution Must Call for Phasing out Nuclear Power and Fossil Fuels
Contact: Tim Judson 301-270-6477 timj@nirs.org
Takoma Park, MD—Nuclear Information and Resource Service issued the following statement today on Sen. Markey’s (D-MA) and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) issuance of the Green New Deal Resolution:
“The Green New Deal resolution introduced today represents what the US desperately needs and deserves: an optimistic, comprehensive vision for how we build a renewable energy economy that truly benefits everyone and achieves universal economic security and prosperity.
“But if this resolution is going to create a Green New Deal, then it actually has to be green. That means phasing out fossil fuels, nuclear power, and other polluting energy sources that drive climate change, poison our environment, and endanger our communities. Policymakers in the U.S. have made a tragic mistake for years, by pretending we can clean up the environment and solve the climate crisis without eliminating the causes of those problems: dirty energy sources and polluting industries.
“The Green New Deal resolution must not repeat that mistake. Green-sounding terms like ‘clean’ and ‘zero-emissions’ have been misused deceptively to promote fossil gas and nuclear power for years, yet the GND resolution includes the same language: ‘meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources.’
“Guaranteed employment, quality education, family-sustaining wages, universal heatlthcare, and expanding and guaranteeing the right to join a union are the foundation of building a truly prosperous country. NIRS celebrates those measures in Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Markey’s resolution.
“The resolution needs to be equally clear about how we solve the climate crisis and green the economy. And that starts with phasing out fossil fuels, nuclear power, and other dirty energy sources, and transitioning to 100% renewable energy.”
NIRS was founded in 1978 as the national information and networking hub for people concerned about nuclear power and radioactive waste. We educate, organize, and mobilize for a nuclear-free, carbon-free world and a socially and environmentally just transition to 100% renewable energy.
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