A Letter to the Senator
Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Sent via email
Re: Please Listen to the Kids: The Green New Deal
Dear Senator Feinstein:
I was shocked to read about your recent conversation with schoolchildren about the proposed Green New Deal, which appears headed for a Senate vote. You are quoted as saying “There’s no way to pay for it” and “That resolution will not pass the Senate, and you can take that back to whoever sent you here and tell them.”
I ask you to reconsider your position…
…for the following reasons:
- We need ambitious and sweeping goals to combat climate change. As the resolution states, “global temperatures must be kept below 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrialized levels to avoid the most severe impacts of a changing climate.” We have just over a decade to act. An incremental, practical approach is not enough.
- Climate change is a national security issue. As the proposed resolution states,
climate change constitutes a direct threat to the national security of the United States—
(1) by impacting the economic, environmental, and social stability of countries and communities around the world; and
(2) by acting as a threat multiplier;…
House Resolution 109, “Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal”
- Climate change will cause massive displacements and resource shortages, which will lead to security threats. We need to invest in national security by redirecting “business-as-usual” defense spending to combat climate change.
- We need to start somewhere, now. Climate change is a big problem that will require a number of actions. The resolution proposes strategies such as “building new buildings to achieve maximum energy efficiency,” and “expanding renewable energy manufacturing.” It’s hard for me to imagine that you oppose such sound strategies.
Caring about Our Children’s Future is Not Radical
As you know, the proposed resolution has provisions promoting social, racial, and economic justice. Some people have portrayed it as “radical” and have mischaracterized it as giving “government unprecedented power over people’s lives and our entire economy.” I agree that it’s tough to support some of the early ideas behind the resolution, but those ideas aren’t in the resolution.
Senator McConnell’s political stunt will work only if it divides Democrats; by opposing the resolution, you are taking his side. Please unite with your Democratic colleagues and vote in support of the resolution.
