As part of its pre-election platform, Virginia’s Democratic party unanimously endorsed two major progressive environmental resolutions: They voted in favor of setting a target of net-zero carbon emissions for the state by 2050 and they endorsed the Green New Deal Virginia.
Like the Green New Deal resolution introduced in the US Congress, Virginia’s version aims to move the state to 100 percent renewable energy while pursuing social welfare programs like job retraining for workers who would lose their jobs in the transition.
Climate change isn’t a far-off issue for Virginians, so it’s not surprising that some were thinking about it at the ballot box. Many are already starting to feel the effects of the melting ice and warming oceans that result from rising average temperatures. The Hampton Roads region, for example, is facing the highest rate of sea-level rise on the East Coast. Rising waters are worsening the impacts of tropical storms that strike the state and will cost Virginia cities billions of dollars in losses in the coming decades.
Article submitted by, Great Gazoo.