Green New Deal Plan - Food/Environmental Reconstruction
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
This category reconstitutes one of the most successful programs of the original New Deal, the original CCC. The main task of the new CCC will be to plant trees and restore ecosystems, with the main goal of drawing down as much carbon dioxide as possible. It could be possible to draw down about 24 GTs of c02 equivalent per year by restoring ecosystems, according to research. Another line of research indicates that planting a billion trees could drawdown about 200 GT of c02 equivalent in total. According to a UN report, soil can be a good source of carbon drawdown, an area of active research. The IPCC recently released a report that concluded that, at the high end, afforestation, soil enrichment, and biochar could reach about 25 GT c02 equivalent per year. Humans now spew about 35 Gigatons into the air per year.
In addition, the CCC will address several of the issue areas in the American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) Report card on the Infrastructure. There is also the larger issue of reviving ecosystems that have been damaged, or even creating large park-like areas, such as a proposed Buffalo Commons that would cover a large part of the Great Plains, or long wildlife corridors. Also, fish sanctuaries should be established to allow to oceans to repopulate.
Public parks and recreation
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers' report card on public parks , there is 'only' about 10 billion in shortfall funding for Federal parks, but close to $95 billion for state parks. So the monies for the CCC would include this work.
Hazardous Wastes
According to the ASCE, a 2004 study by the EPA estimated that $209 billion would be needed to clean up all hazardous sites in the next 30 to 35 years. Let's assume $10 billion per year for 20 years, although it is quite possible this is an underestimate. Then we have 200,000 jobs; let's assume less than normal manufacturing, since these jobs are mainly service jobs, so let's assume 20,000 manufacturing jobs.
Reading List:
Land without Bread: The Green New Deal forsakes America's Countryside