Change Everything

Why do personal emergencies feel more urgent than collective ones? How can we activate our collective emergency response systems to address the crises of climate, racism and inequality we face? For inspiration, we talk to Varshini Prakash (@VarshPrakash), co-founder and Executive Director of the Sunrise Movement about the bold idea known as the Green New Deal.  The GND is a vision for radically transforming the country’s systems–from energy to infrastructure, housing, food and transportation–in order to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, avoid catastrophic global warming, and create millions of good jobs in the process. And if insurgent Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) and the Sunrise Movement have their way, it’s going to be a major campaign issue leading up to the U.S. election in 2020. But is there anything intrinsically American about a Green New Deal? As Canada heads into a federal election year, we explore the opportunities and challenges of bringing the GND frame here.