By Matt Chester, writer/editor of the excellent Chester Energy and Policy blog, posted a thought-provoking story in which he asked practitioners in a variety of fields about what a Green New Deal could look like in their areas of endeavor. He was very kind to ask yours truly to offer some ideas for a sports version of the GND.
Matt Chester’s “Energy and Policy Blog” is always an interesting read, striking a strong balance between “just the facts”-ness and wonkishness.
So when he called to say he was writing a story about what a Green New Deal would look like across a variety of sectors, from higher education to movies to the internet, I was intrigued. When he mentioned that sports would also be a topic area, I became really interested. And, when Matt asked if I would be open to developing some thought starters around a Green New Deal for sports, I said yes in about two seconds flat.
Click here to read his post and some of my ideas for a sports Green New Deal.
For those who’ve been living under a rock the past couple of weeks, the Green New Deal is a resolution that was introduced in late January in Congress by freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14) and Ed Markey (D), the junior senator from Massachusetts.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY14) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a Green New Deal resolution in both houses of Congress on January 30. Standing in the background is Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) (Photo credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The GND resolution offers a sweeping plan to make the United States carbon neutral by 2030, upgrade the energy efficiency and sustainability of national infrastructure and private businesses, and create “millions” of jobs in the process. Click here to link to an analysis of the Green New Deal from the February 7 issue of Vox.
It is important to note the Green New Deal resolution is not a bill.
A resolution is a statement of principles while a GND bill (or bills) would be an actual piece(s) of legislation based on those principles. The bill would need to be passed by the House and Senate, then signed by the President (or overridden by a 2/3 vote by each body of Congress in case of a very likely veto from this President) to become law.
GSB’s Take: The Green New Deal is at the beginning of what looks to be a long, bumpy yet important ride through Congress. Good going by Matt Chester to broaden the GND conversation beyond the world of politics by getting people to think of what analogous “Green Moonshots” would look like in film, higher education and sports.
As far as the Green New Deal as a policy matter is concerned, I see some great things in it as well as some caution flags. You can be sure that we will examine the plusses and minuses of the GND in the coming days, as well as cover how the sports world reacts to it. And we will build upon the Green New Deal of Sports thought starters we presented today. Please share you own ideas in the comments section below.
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