Building a bridge to climate change - Morganton News Herald

Building a bridge to climate change

As a former Peace Corps volunteer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, I was excited to read about the new American Climate Corps formed by President Joe Biden, especially since the youth of today are incredibly involved and vocal about climate and its effect not only here, but all around the world.

And this kind of vision for the newest generation isn’t something unique or the brainchild of only one president. In 1933, when millions of Americans were out of work because of the Great Depression, the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps, part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, hired a “tree army” of young people who eventually planted 3.5 billion trees (among other projects, such as building trails in national parks) across the country. And, of course, President John F. Kennedy’s Peace Corps, still alive and active today in 60 countries, was similar as a shared vision for what was possible by working with, living alongside, and celebrating the diversity of cultures around the world. I was glad to see that the Corps is back in Sierra Leone, which is where I served the balance of my term in Freetown, the capital. During my day, there were a few hundred volunteers and today, there are only 31, but they’re still there, mostly teachers. Biden’s new Civilian Climate Corps has similar goals: Give people jobs and simultaneously tackle climate work such as reforestation and protecting biodiversity. Its goals will put a new generation of Americans to work conserving United States lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, advancing environmental justice, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies and tackling climate change.

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Whew! That’s a lot of promise, but we are a nation of people always up for a challenge and I’m confident once it gets going, it will thrive like FDR’s and JFK’s programs.

And all three corps’ programs didn’t have it easy to come about. After being thwarted by Congress, Biden is using his executive authority to create the New Deal-style Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program. The program calls for the hiring of more than 20,000 young adults who will build trails, plant trees, help install solar panels and do other work to boost conservation and help prevent catastrophic wildfires.

The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year, but was abandoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost. However, Democrats and environmental advocacy groups pushed Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorizing what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps.

“After years of demonstrating and fighting for a Climate Corps, we turned a generational rallying cry into a real jobs program that will put a new generation to work stopping the climate crisis,” said Varshini Prakash, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, an environmental group that has led the push for a climate corps.

The Sunrise Movement and other climate activists, including many young adults, were outraged this spring after Biden approved the huge Willow oil-drilling project in Alaska. Opponents say the project and others approved by Biden put his climate legacy at risk, but concerns were put aside, for now, as environmental activists hailed the new jobs program, modeled after FDR’s program.

The White House declined to say how much the program will cost or how it will be paid for, but Democrats proposed $10 billion for the climate corps in the climate bill before the provision was removed.

Rep. Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat who has cosponsored a climate corps bill, said it’s important to train the next generation of federal land managers, park rangers and other stewards of our natural resources. Neguse said the program should pay “a living wage” while offering health care coverage and support for child care, housing, transportation and education.

A key distinction between the original Civilian Conservation Corps and the new climate contingent is that, unlike the 1930s, the U.S. economy is not in an economic depression. In fact, the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.8% in August, low by historical measures. However, the new corps is likely to be far more diverse than the largely white and male force created 90 years ago.

My view? The more diverse, the better the program and its success in meeting its goals. We have a lot of talented young people — let’s put them to good, rewarding work. I’d rather see money spent on that than trying to get to Mars.

White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the administration will work with at least six federal agencies to create the climate corps and will pair with at least 10 states. California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan and Washington have already begun similar programs, while five more are launching their own climate corps, Zaidi said: Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, our own North Carolina and Utah.

According to the White House’s news release, the initiative will provide job training and service opportunities to work on a wide range of projects that tackle climate change, including restoring coastal wetlands to protect communities from storm surges and flooding; deploying clean energy projects such as wind and solar power; managing forests to improve health and prevent catastrophic wildfires; and implementing energy-efficient solutions to cut energy bills for consumers.

Creation of the climate corps comes as the Environmental Protection Agency launches a $4.6 billion grant competition for states, municipalities and tribes to cut climate pollution and advance environmental justice. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants are funded by the 2022 climate law and are intended to drive community-driven solutions to slow climate change.

The deadline for states and municipalities to apply is April 1, with grants expected in late 2024. The deadline for tribes and territories is May 1, with grants expected by early 2025.

For more information, check out whitehouse/climatecorps.com.

Peg DeMarco is a Morganton resident who writes a weekly features column for The News Herald. Contact her at pegdemarco@earthlink.net.