Besides getting people to change their behavior, there are two possible approaches to curbing global warming resulting from ‘human activities’. One is the technological side — reducing emissions from given activities. The Green New Deal (GND) is mostly concerned with using government to enhance technological advancements and their implementation.

This is not about socialism vs. capitalism, but the fact is that the structure and functioning of Modern society is itself a driver of global warming. In it ‘growth’ (increases in output) must be maximized in order to maximize employment and total income (and therefore tax receipts to fund spending by government — either directly or by making payments on debt).

The environmental implications of that need for such growth are obvious. They are multiplied for less ‘developed’ nations, where the assault on the environment associated with new growth rapes virgin land.

If, whatever the level of total output, any nation could eliminate unemployment and poverty — while maintaining its current per capita level of total government spending (without adding any public debt )— that would eliminate that need for maximizing growth. The environmental benefits of accomplishing that are equally obvious.

I have learned how that can be done. To accomplish it we do not have to change the economy. We only have to change the way we supply the Modern economy with money. [For the record, I do have an M.A. in economics.]

If interested, see “By Request: How to Transform the Society of any Nation (summarized in a ‘5 min read’)” here in Medium.