Expand existing state programs to improve waters and overall balance in Iowa tax system.
Recent initiative fails to meet needs to improve Iowa water quality
Policymakers need to acknowledge both the magnitude of the water quality problem in Iowa, and the role of nonpoint-source nutrient pollution. Financing has been inadequate. We pay lip service to our financial responsibility as a state and have underestimated what is required for success.
Here we address four questions: What has the state’s spending commitment to water quality looked like over the past 15 years? How much state and federal spending goes to nutrient pollution reduction in Iowa? How much spending is needed to make meaningful progress in cleaning Iowa waters? How can the state raise adequate revenue to make an impact?
The Green New Deal has excited a new generation of activists and beautifully framed how this kind of societal transformation is in keeping with our history. Previous plans, like the Apollo Alliance and Blue-Green Alliance platforms, have carefully incorporated some policy nuances that we can learn from. As the Green New Deal is fleshed out, it can incorporate concerns that unions, transit advocates, urban planners and others have previously raised. We can make transformative green investments, employ people now, direct jobs and training to communities hurt by the conventional energy economy, cut pollution and emissions contributing to climate change, and slash spending on fossil fuels, particularly for low-income families whose homes and cars are often least efficient. That’s a great set of goals!
To create a Green New Deal that can achieve these goals, we must first understand how we use energy and where our emissions come from. In Ohio, 70 percent of emissions come from the electric power and transportation sectors combined. On the other hand, industry uses more fossil fuels than any other sector in Ohio. This means that to be successful, a Green New Deal has to start with aggressive strategies to tackle these three sectors.