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The United States is embarking on an experiment inspired by one of the New Deal’s most popular programs.On Wednesday, the Biden administration authorized Creation of the American Climate Change Corps by executive order. The program will employ 20,000 young people in the first year to install wind and solar power projects, make homes more energy efficient and restore ecosystems such as coastal wetlands to protect towns from flooding. It’s planned.
This idea has been in the works for years. This was first announced at the White House in January 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden took office. Executive Order on Addressing the Climate Crisis. At the time, it was called President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Climate Change Corps.” Civilian Conservation Corps, founded in 1933 to help the country survive the Great Depression, helped build hundreds of parks, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and many of the hiking trails and lodges found across the country today. An early version of the Inflation Control Act, Biden’s trademark climate bill passed last year, included funding to revive the CCC. However, the funds were obtained by cut during negotiation Last summer, he worked with Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and the program was thought to be dead.
I changed my name and came back. Biden’s executive order promises America’s Climate Corps will “ensure more young people have access to the skills-based training they need for high-paying careers” in clean energy and climate resilience efforts are doing. There are plans to link this with AmeriCorps, a national service program, and leverage the efforts of several smaller climate change squads launched by states in California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, and Washington. . However, the order did not provide details on what kind. Funds are being raised for the program Or how much wages workers receive. The White House also new website You can sign up here to receive the latest information on joining the program.
Bringing back the Civilian Conservation Corps is widely popular, with 84% of Americans supporting the idea. vote It was conducted last year by Yale University’s Program on Climate Change Communication. Mark Paul, a public policy professor at Rutgers University, said the new name, which replaces “civilian” with “American,” leans toward a patriotic tone that further broadens the program’s appeal.
“I think we are fighting for the very soul of our nation right now,” Paul said. “President Biden and other Democrats are trying to brand climate change.” [action] Not only is it good for the environment, it’s good for America. And I think that’s exactly what they’re trying to convey with this name change, that climate jobs are good for Americans. ”
The program could also be an attempt to appeal to younger voters in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election. The administration faced criticism from climate activists when it approved the bill. willow oil project in northern Alaska in March after the court concluded that won’t let them block it. After the decision, a Data for Progress poll found that Biden’s approval ratings on climate change declined. 13 percent Restoring the CCC has long been an item on progressives’ wish lists, as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, said back in 2020. reportedly pitched Secretary of State John Kerry about making the program part of Biden’s platform during the 2020 presidential campaign.
“I am pleased to say that the White House has responded to our generation’s call for a climate force and that President Biden recognizes that this is just the beginning of building the climate force of the future,” said Varshini Prakash, Youth Director. he said. -Leading the Sunrise Movement, told reporters ahead of Biden’s announcement.
To be sure, America’s climate brigade may run into problems. If we model AmeriCorps, the job may not exactly be called a “good job.” AmeriCorps members are more like volunteers who receive small stipends and often live near the poverty line.The White House has launched this program path Towards a good career. “The administration is particularly focused on ensuring that those who participate through this program have a path to high-paying union jobs,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. phone call with a reporter About the announcement on Tuesday. “We’re very focused on that.”
Zaidi said the initiative could help strengthen the position of workers such as electricians and address the country’s problems. lack of skilled labor People who can introduce low-carbon technologies such as electric vehicle chargers and heat pumps. “We hope the launch of the American Climate Corps will help accelerate the training of a new generation of installers, contractors, and others who will ultimately turn these great ideas into reality.” Paul Lambert, co-founder and CEO of California heat pump company Quilt, said in a statement to Grist.
The new program, which aims to hire 20,000 people a year, is much smaller than many activists had hoped. The original CCC employed 300,000 men in its first three months alone (women were excluded until Eleanor Roosevelt took office). “See See See” Camp (opened in 1934).Some progressives like Ocasio-Cortez had hoped the climate unit could hire talent. 1.5 million people Over 5 years. If all goes well, the program could expand. Paul speculates that the Biden administration is starting small as a “proof of concept to show the American people that this program works and is worth investing in.”
If there is a lot of interest in America’s Climate Change Corps, those 20,000 spots could be filled quickly.Among the 1,200 likely voters Research by Data for Progress Two years ago, half of people under 45 said they would consider participating if given the opportunity.
“I teach youth every day, and one of the biggest problems we face right now is that youth feel like they don’t know what to do,” Paul said. “And now there are programs that the U.S. government is promoting to say, ‘If you want to help, here’s one way you can contribute to decarbonizing our country.'”
This article was first published grist in https://grist.org/politics/want-to-join-the-american-climate-corps-what-we-know-so-far/.
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