Thread by @aldatweets

To have cheap, abundant, no-carbon energy, we need massive, federal green investment. We need a Green New Deal

That's my big takeaway from this fantastic episode featuring @russellgold. But there are three more key points I want to draw out

short 🧵

https://twitter.com/TheEnergyGang/status/1172492503704055809

FIRST, @CleanGridView and @JigarShahDC get it: to build the big transmission grid we need, only the federal government can lead the charge. Private investors just can't do it

But everyone skates over @rehundt's reporting in A Crisis Wasted

acrisiswasted.com

There was a specific reason that Obama's advisors managed to block him from funding massive clean energy transition grid: NEOLIBERALISM in its most garish form

Hundt makes v compelling argument that gov't missed change to capitalize a green bank to fund big transmission

The flip-side is that once you reject the Wall Street model of profiting off destroying every piece of hope in our future, we have options

@russellgold agrees @BernieSanders plan address transmission, but rolls eyes bc rn, TVA & other fed entities have been so conservative

Why should @BernieSanders or the climate movement trust existing federal entities? And the answer is, we shouldn't!

This is my SECOND point: For the federal government to make a Green New Deal happen, we have to transform the federal government

Climate thinkers like @JooBilly get this. The reason he's not so depressed is because like others who've read their history, he knows that this is possible. It's happened before. EG, the creation of the TVA the first time around! There are lessons

placesjournal.org/article/design…

The bigger point from @rehundt's *must-read* book is that our public institutions are way more up for grabs than is commonly realized. Yes, it will take mass mobilization

(If we take the government in its neoliberal and institutionally conservative form for granted, we lose)

THIRD, revitalized government has to involve a more nimble + democratic relationship to building clean infrastructure. @leahstokes has done brilliant research showing how wind construction can spark serious backlash

I offer some ideas on how to go here

jacobinmag.com/2017/08/the-la…

@leahstokes But for the full argument on how climate movement, progressive forces, and other Green New Dealerscan make better use of the next econ crisis, and get all this glorious decarbonization done in a most beautiful way, you'll have to read our book 😘

@leahstokes @triofrancos @KateAronoff @alybatt Pre-order here: versobooks.com/books/3107-a-p…

And yes, the book goes all in on a big, clean, public grid. Get excited for our take-down of hellish libertarian "grid defection"