Jeremy Brecher, "The Green New Deal from Below: How Ordinary People Are Building a Just and Climate-Safe Economy" (U Illinois Press, 2024)
Dec 10, 2024
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Jeremy Brecher, a historian and lifelong activist, dives into the grassroots movement driving the Green New Deal. He shares inspiring stories from local initiatives in Boston that blend climate action with social justice. The conversation highlights how economic development can harmonize with environmental justice, especially in the emerging lithium industry. Brecher underscores the role of community efforts, like Shinnecock kelp farming and transitioning Appalachian labor, in crafting a just and climate-safe economy. This blueprint champions hope and sustainable solutions.
Grassroots movements are crucial in implementing the Green New Deal, addressing climate justice and creating economic equity within local communities.
State-level initiatives, like Illinois' climate legislation, showcase the effectiveness of integrating labor rights with environmental goals for sustainable development.
Deep dives
The Green New Deal from Below
Grassroots movements across the country are implementing initiatives that align with the principles of the Green New Deal, focusing on climate justice and economic equity. Various communities have started local programs to combat climate change while also creating job opportunities for marginalized groups. For instance, the Boston Green New Deal emphasizes training and job placement for young people, particularly those from disenfranchised backgrounds, while also transforming public transportation to be more energy-efficient. These local efforts exemplify how individuals can collaborate to enact meaningful change, even in the face of political gridlock at the national level.
State-Level Innovations
Innovative climate and job legislation in states such as Illinois highlights the importance of addressing worker rights alongside environmental goals. The Illinois law emerged from extensive grassroots campaigns among communities that traditionally face the brunt of climate impacts, ensuring that the voices of those affected are included in development processes. This coordination resulted in a comprehensive bill that mandates the closure of coal plants while protecting displaced workers with measures like wage supplements. Such state-level initiatives demonstrate that effective climate strategies can be created by integrating labor rights and environmental sustainability.
Community and Labor Collaboration
The emergence of the lithium industry in California presents a unique opportunity for cooperation between labor and community advocates to ensure sustainable development. Local organizations, including unions, have taken proactive steps to shape the mining of lithium, which is vital for clean energy technologies, to ensure it takes place under fair labor conditions. In this context, theUnited Mine Workers have teamed up with a new battery production facility, enabling laid-off miners to transition into green jobs. This collaboration illustrates how unions can adapt to the evolving energy landscape while still securing livelihoods for their members.
Its core principle is to use the necessity for climate protection as a basis for realizing full employment and social justice. Jeremy Brecher goes beyond the national headlines and introduces readers to the community, municipal, county, state, tribal, and industry efforts advancing the Green New Deal across the United States. Brecher illustrates how such programs from below do the valuable work of building constituencies and providing proofs of concept for new ideas and initiatives. Block by block, these activities have come together to form a Green New Deal built on a strong foundation of small-scale movements and grassroots energy. A call for hope and a better tomorrow, The Green New Deal from Below offers a blueprint for reconstructing society on new principles to avoid catastrophic climate change.