WiseOne wrote: ↑Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:27 am Took a quick peek at the Green New Deal. It's mainly a call for Congress to get off their derrieres and stop amusing themselves with Trump-baiting, and start working on infrastructure that really does need attention. Not at all a bad thing.
Some of the items on the list are ridiculously naive, like "upgrade all existing buildings to make them energy efficient" - hell, if that were at all feasible NYC would already have done it. Others are pure socialist crap like the one calling for cash welfare for "anyone unable or unwilling to work.", "A guaranteed job for all." (Guaranteed by whom? and to do what?) and "high speed rail to make air travel non-existent" (is she not aware of the distance between the west and east coasts?) But others I could really get behind. High speed rail for mid/near distance travel, infrastructure repair, smart power grid, more sustainable/renewable energy.
I don't hate AOC the way some people do but it's fun to watch her naive optimism meet the jadedness of the swamp. Like John C Sanford, the creationist scientist Mountaineer linked to in the measles thread, she's got a good head on her shoulders and some nifty educational credentials. That doesn't always translate into practical applications.
I will reserve any judgment of AOC until she's served for ten years. She might turn out to really be something when she gets used to the levers of government.
In the meantime, maybe she's right that small changes are not enough to save us from climate change. But, it's either small changes or nothing. We would need a government like China's to make extreme changes like the ones she's suggesting.