The term "Green New Deal" invokes images of a U.S.-only social welfare and jobs program. Entitlements to those who didn't get a fair shake. That isn't going to engender bipartisan support, and it isn't exactly what we need right now.
What we need is World War III.
World War II transformed our nation and the world, and united everyone against a common global enemy. We mobilized, fought, and won World War II in far less than ten years.
I know, "The War on..." (fill-in-the-blank: drugs, poverty, crime, etc.) is cliche. That overused term--implying a U.S.-only national mobilization--is not what we need. But the imagery and momentum of a war is useful. Look at all the Senators who couldn't keep themselves from voting for the War in Iraq. Spineless sheep who care only about money and power--many of whom are currently holding up humanity's efforts to stop Global Warming and save our only home--will go along with a just war that has popular support. And if those in power continue to thwart the will of the people, then our federal government would continue to be the global bad actor that an allied world along with a local resistance would continue to mobilize against to save humanity from a horrible future. Californias of the world vs. the Trumps of the world. Kids of the world vs. the Feinsteins of the world.
What tactics will win this war? We need to focus on shutting off the supply of carbon-based fuels, not just the demand or the pollution they cause. As we know in California, you can't force water conservation in a wet year--you need a drought to motivate the masses. Steadily shutting down the world's carbon mining on a well-publicized schedule (i.e. cap and trade with a slowly decreasing cap), starting with the largest and dirtiest operations, would give businesses certainty and let market prices do the work of shifting demand to alternative fuels and sparking innovation. Carbon taxes would work in tandem to decrease demand and could be used to ameliorate the pain of transition. Then focus enforcement efforts on the black market, as well as maintaining a well-respected accounting system for the small amount of carbon mining, use, and sequestration that is sustainable and permissible.
This war can be won and ended quickly, unlike the war in Afghanistan. Maybe we would need joint strike teams to continue to shut down rogue oil and gas drilling and coal mining operations. But the "war" would happen quickly and be over in less than a decade.
