Part One:
Our guest is Brian Kahn, a journalist covering climate change for Earther, where he is managing editor. We discuss Gov. Jay Inslee’s (Wash.) roadmap for a post-coronavirus green recovery. Inslee’s proposal might well serve as the environmental platform for Joe Biden and the Democratic party for the 2020 general election.
For example, oil prices have dropped to incredibly low levels. So instead of bailing out the oil industry for its losses during COVID-19, maybe we can think about *buying them out*. That way, we can replace fossil fuels with sustainable energy sources, through a Green New Deal.
Kahn’s other article describes how unusually sunny skies are causing Greenland’s ice sheet to melt. The climate crisis is no longer way up in the arctic. What does this mean for the world’s more temperate zones, going forward?
Part Two:
We speak with Henry Grabar, reporter for Slate.com, about why the government’s plan to save the economy is failing. As soon as the CARES Act was passed, the well-off and well-connected quickly jumped to the head of the line to get stimulus money. Now there are insufficient funds for the people and small businesses who most needed economic support.
Moreover, many of society’s most essential workers – the undocumented residents and other members of the “shadow workforce” – are not getting government checks nor unemployment benefits, even though they have lost their jobs and still have to pay bills for food, rent, and other basic life necessities.
