Kate Aronoff of the Intercept and the Jacobin joins Michael Brooks this Thursday to discuss the prospects and the “Five Freedoms” of a Green New Deal. As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez makes the media rounds to rally support for her and Ed Markey’s Green New Deal, Aronoff joins MR to explains what we can hope to achieve legislatively and how quickly we can decarbonize the economy this century. Aronoff breaks down the power relationships of climate catastrophe and how approximately 100 companies account for 71% of all carbon emissions since 1988. The five freedoms laid out in Aronoff’s piece critique our current lifestyle politics. While it’s important to make environmentally conscious choices, the choices of a low-income consumer in the middle of the country is not nearly as destructive as Betsy DeVos owning several houses, yachts, and flying on private jets. More broadly speaking, Aronoff believes we need to rethink our understanding a productive lifestyle. Under a Green New Deal we need to abolish work that is worse than toil; work that is both unfulfilling and destructive to the environment must be effectively eliminated from society. While policymakers are proposing legislation to remake our energy economy, Aronoff says elected officials should not overlook the importance of climate justice, too. Over the past 40 years, energy executives have hidden climate research showing the damage of carbon emission and have promoted disinformation in its place. Moving forward it’s important that we hold these industry leaders accountable for their actions in the court of law.
And in the Fun Half: When Bernie endorsed Jessie Jackson’s 88 campaign, Nomiki Konst wants to audit and municipalize the MTA, judging our healthcare future on researched metadata, Michael explains the Latin American geopolitical dynamic of the late-20th century and Lula’s second conviction, Mike Pompeo says there are active Hezbollah cells in Venezuela, AOC’s vision for America with a Green New Deal, Howard Schultz is the billionaire Chauncey Gardner, one listener’s story of breaking away from the IDW, Abdul Sayed explains M4A contrasted with CAP Medicare Extra, debating the effectiveness of BDS, improving Ro Khanna’s foreign policy chops, plus your calls and IMs!
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