Michael Brune, Sierra Club
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Sierra Club’s Michael Brune delivered one of the keynote addresses on repairing America’s infrastructure with green jobs Monday afternoon at the Good Jobs, Green Jobs annual conference, put on by the Blue Green Alliance, a coalition of unions and environmental non-profit groups. With more than 15 million members through 14 affiliated organizations, 10 unions and 4 major environmental groups, it is a growing political force to be reckoned with in Washington and around the country.
Watch the Video
Quotable Excerpts
“Our country — and in fact the entire world — has to achieve an extraordinary goal, and we have less and less time in which to do it. We need to recreate our economy with clean energy that takes the place of fossil fuels,” Brune said. “Everybody here knows it’s going to be a challenge to do that. But we must.”
The ultimate rewards for all of humanity when we achieve that goal will be “greater than we can imagine.”
“The Sierra Club is 100 percent committed to creating an economy that is 100 percent powered with clean energy,” he said. “It will be the most important thing we’ve ever been part of. Greater than the creation of our national parks … than protecting the redwoods in North California … Than protecting the Arctic … than all of the bedrock environmental laws that protect our air, water and wildlife.”
On the other hand, a “failure to stop climate disruption would overshadow every one of those monumental achievements.”
“Success,” however, “will bring lasting benefits and be enjoyed by generations. Yet if we pursue this goal blindly, we cannot succeed. If we pursue this goal without considering how it affects people as well as the planet we will have failed.”
The transition to clean energy is already creating fantastic economic opportunities.
“But if those opportunities are kept beyond the reach of workers and families who built the old economy, then the new economy will have failed,” he said. “Any clean energy economy must include a fair and just transition that does not leave American workers and communities behind.”
As the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka said in the morning session, he reiterated, “we have to fight climate change and inequality with both fists. Failure to do one or the other will mean that we will fail in our efforts to achieve both.”
Related Posts:
Before you continue, I’d like to ask if you could support our independent journalism as we head into one of the most critical news periods of our time in 2024.
The New American Journal is deeply dedicated to uncovering the escalating threats to our democracy and holding those in power accountable. With a turbulent presidential race and the possibility of an even more extreme Trump presidency on the horizon, the need for independent, credible journalism that emphasizes the importance of the upcoming election for our nation and planet has never been greater.
However, a small group of billionaire owners control a significant portion of the information that reaches the public. We are different. We don’t have a billionaire owner or shareholders. Our journalism is created to serve the public interest, not to generate profit. Unlike much of the U.S. media, which often falls into the trap of false equivalence in the name of neutrality, we strive to highlight the lies of powerful individuals and institutions, showing how misinformation and demagoguery can harm democracy.
Our journalists provide context, investigate, and bring to light the critical stories of our time, from election integrity threats to the worsening climate crisis and complex international conflicts. As a news organization with a strong voice, we offer a unique, outsider perspective that is often missing in American media.
Thanks to our unique reader-supported model, you can access the New American journal without encountering a paywall. This is possible because of readers like you. Your support keeps us independent, free from external influences, and accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for news.
Please help if you can.
American journalists need your help more than ever as forces amass against the free press and democracy itself. We must not let the crypto-fascists and the AI bots take over.
See the latest GoFundMe campaign here or click on this image.
Don't forget to listen to the new song and video.
Just because we are not featured on cable TV news talk shows, or TikTok videos, does not mean we are not getting out there in search engines and social media sites. We consistently get over a million hits a month.
Click to Advertise Here
