A deadline is fast approaching. While countries worldwide are already feeling the effects of climate change, scientists from the intergovernmental panel assigned to assess the future of our planet have warned that if we don’t meet that deadline, there’s more damage to come. However, change is not something that is traditionally fast in coming to either the political or fossil fuel sectors. As grassroots activists and more progressive politicians boost the conversation about reaching a zero-carbon goal in the coming years, a new question arises: What’s to become of a multi-billion dollar industry built on fossil fuels?

If demand for oil and gas were to suddenly vanish, the current supply of those resources, along with carbon-fueled plants and discovery investments could become “stranded assets.” With no market for fossil fuels, corporations and investors would end up with assets they can’t offload, potentially causing a cascade of investment failure. However, if the industry is as slow to change as it has been historically, there’s some debate as to how serious the threat of stranded assets really is. Can this enormous piece of the global economy withstand the changes that need to be made to see a carbon-zero future? …

Colorado is going green in a whole new way. At a climate change conference in Poland late last year, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced that the state would be implementing a Clean Energy Fund in 2019. Colorado’s the latest state to join an ever-growing list establishing green financial mechanisms. Green Banks, like the newly-formed Green Bank of Colorado, focus on funneling public and private funds into clean energy initiatives. This is a big financial step that could set into motion some of the goals of the Green New Deal.

The Green New Deal, or GND, is a proposal to restructure the national economy and reduce the impacts of environmental pollution. Colorado’s new green banking strategy is part of the state’s climate plan, which commits to reducing the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than a quarter by 2025. As even the proponents of the Green New Deal admit, widespread economic change is going to take massive public investment and policy overhaul. …

The concepts behind a Green New Deal are currently widely popular with members of both political parties. But there’s a catch. Most don’t know much about it…

The Green New Deal (GND), in its most basic sense, is a robust series of programs involving investment in clean energy jobs and infrastructure resulting in a transformation of the energy sector, and the economy overall. In addition to these massive investments into clean energy programs, citizens are given a federal-job guarantee, and there is a transformative effect on the U.S. economy.

The concept of a GND in the US was first mentioned in a column written by Thomas Friedman in 2007 and expanded upon in his subsequent book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded. It was also included as part of Barack Obama’s campaign platform in 2008. After remaining dormant for several years, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a number of young climate activists to thrust the idea back into the spotlight following the 2018 midterm elections. …

Since the recent midterm elections, public interest in the New Green Deal (GND) has skyrocketed in Washington and across the country. But, what is the GND and why is it causing such a stir?

The Green New Deal (GND) is a set of goals and proposed actions aimed at creating national economic and social change. The Sunrise Movement, started by young activists, created a political firestorm in November of last year by occupying Nancy Pelosi’s office demanding newly elected Democrats support a plan for a Green New Deal. The GND takes direct aim at oil companies and the politicians who profit from them. The GND’s goals also have a short timeline. The think tank, Data for Progress, states the GND’s goals must be “100% clean and renewable electricity by 2035,” “zero net emissions by 2050,” and “100% net-zero building energy standards by 2030.” …

“I think it is a fantastic idea and I think it is the secret, or one of the secrets, to winning 2020,” Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who has worked with progressives like Ocasio-Cortez, said of the Green New Deal. “It combines an issue that Democrats are way ahead on — the environment — and an issue they need to desperately get ahead on — the economy.”

The Green New Deal has become a sort of umbrella term for a list of ideas for economic change, with the fight against climate change at its core. At the moment, quite little is known about the specifics of the Green New Deal. Still, the general idea projected to the public is one that includes a total switch to “clean” renewable energy — by 2030. It also encompasses an increase in the taxes of high-end earners, a federal guarantee for good jobs to all Americans, retrofits for buildings across the country and transition to renewable-energy-powered transportation. …

If the Green New Deal is going to succeed, we will likely need major changes to the country’s energy tax structure; changes that would eliminate big tax cuts and subsidies for the oil and gas industry and instead encourage renewables. Bill’s like Senator Ron Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act (introduced in 2017–18), could help level the playing field for clean energy, giving a boost to development efforts like the Green New Deal.

Currently, Big Oil profits enormously from federal tax cuts and subsidies that come from the pockets of American taxpayers. Green energy companies don’t see nearly the same tax incentives that the oil and gas industry has spent nearly a century building up. For instance, if a company invests in putting up a new oil well one year, they can deduct 100% of the cost of the well from their yearly taxes. If that oil well should happen to explode and cause environmental damage, the company can deduct what they spend on cleanup. The oil and gas that they do extract also carries lower royalties, due to tax exemptions. Finally, these companies are subsidized for direct spending costs, like using waterways to ship oil and gas. David Roberts at Vox does the math, “Adding everything up: $14.7 billion in federal subsidies and $5.8 billion in state-level incentives, for a total of $20.5 …

Many small towns like Fowler, IN never expected that renewable energy projects would be the saving grace of their communities. But when wind developers make $17 million in payments to your county and spent millions more on roads and infrastructure improvements, the benefits are hard to ignore.

So how does a green new deal stack up for the heartland?

Rural economies have faced population declines, stagnant job growth, and a lack of opportunities for development and prosperity across the country. Over the last decade, however, a change has appeared on the horizon. Communities in rural states have seen more and more green energy installations popping-up. A landscape once filled with smoke emitting coal plants has given way to majestic wind-powered turbines churning power and energy. A big upswing in clean green energy, due primarily to a drastic reduction in the price of renewables, has begun to take hold in these impacted communities. If proponents had their way, a Green New Deal, focused on expanding clean technology through smart growth strategies, would only further help to revive these communities by spurring job growth, updating infrastructure, and providing much needed economic stimulus to rural America. …

How have conservatives been so successful at changing hearts and minds? Values. Learn the three most important lessons we’ve uncovered about values and culture, and how the progressive movement can create real opportunities for reform!

There’s a powerful concept often associated with successful business management practices:

“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast”

Made famous by Ford executive Mark Fields, it’s a simple statement that sums up the importance culture plays in organizations. The same can be said for politics and the state of the progressive movement.

Progressives need to admit that we’re behind the curve and playing catch up with the conservative movement in American politics and culture. Small legislative victories in the last decade like The Affordable Care Act, are significant. And legal wins for issues like marriage equality, stand out. But when you compare these with the monumental strides made to improve the lives of millions during the 1960’s and 70’s, the gains have been minimal and at the margins. So why is this? Because while we’ve been arguing with ourselves over policy & strategy, the cultural ground has shifted under our feet. …