Green New Deal Gets Support From Lakewood City Council

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood City Council unanimously passed a resolution this week supporting the Green New Deal and a lesser-known House Resolution which would institute a fee for carbon pollution.

“Climate change is already affecting Lakewood in the form of severe storms, higher lake levels, higher temperatures, and changing weather patterns,” said At-Large Council Member Tom Bullock.

The national Green New Deal resolution sets a goal for the nation to get 100 percent of its power through renewable energy by 2030. The Green New Deal was unveiled by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez, a Democrat from New York, and backed by many of her party's leading candidates for president, including Sen. Kamala Harris.

The plan also calls for the urgent phasing out of greenhouse gas emissions and heavy investment in new infrastructure and jobs to create more sustainable energy generation.

Bullock and fellow At-Large councilperson Tristan Rader introduced the supporting resolution to council. Included in the duo's resolution was an endorsement of the Solidarity for Climate Action platform of the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of unions environmental organizations.

“Renewables not only preserve our planet, but they also reduce energy costs, create renewable energy jobs right here in Northeast Ohio, and they create opportunities for everyone to participate in a more equitable energy system,” said Rader.

Beyond showing municipal support for national action, the resolution passed on Monday also commits Lakewood to continued environmental protections.

In recent years, municipal buildings have agreed to explore the use of rooftop solar power generation. Lakewood is also trying to expand its tree canopy, a small way to help absorb carbon released by fossil fuels and protect residents from increasingly hot weather.

"Of course, our City cannot act alone to effectively address climate change, which is global in scale. This is why it is especially important that we call upon our state and federal partners to work on this issue in a focused manner," Bullock and Rader wrote in the resolution.