NOWTHIS VIDEO REGARDING THE ISABELLE WERNER

GREEN NEW DEAL

PURPOSE OF ARTIFACT
Introduction Thesis
This artifact affirms the systemic nature
of both the Green New Deal and the The NowThis Green
Sunrise Movement’s relation to it. The
rhetoric use of promulgation,
New Deal video
polarization, and prescribing action aim
to draw in support from not only a micro
demonstrates and
level, but also meso and macro levels in encourages the
order to fight for climate justice.
modernized shift in
climate activism.
WHAT’S THE GREEN NEW DEAL?
❑ House bill resolution laid out on February 7th 2019 by Alexandrea Ocasio-Cortez
and Ed Markey
❑ Expresses collective sentiment of House on a particular issue, person, or event
❑ Not binding law and if were to pass, it wouldn’t in itself create any new programs
❑ Circulates in the house, if passed moves to the senate
❑ Sets goals for drastic measures to cut carbon emissions while creating jobs

HTTPS://KEATING.HOUSE.GOV/POLICY-WORK/GUIDE-LEGISLATIVE-VOTES#:~:TEXT=RES.,PASSAGE%20OF%20A%20HOUSE%20RESOLUTION
MOVEMENT CONTEXT
NowThis
NowThis is a progressive social-media
focused platform founded in 2012.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
AOC is the representative for New York’s
14th Congressional District. She and Ed
Markey wrote the Green New Deal
resolution. She is an advocate for the
Green New Deal, Medicare for All, and
Defunding the Police.
Sunrise Movement
Founded in 2017, The Sunrise Movement
is an American 501 political action
organization that advocates political
action on climate change. The group's
goal is to elect proponents of renewable
energy often known as “Green New
Deal Champions.”
HTTPS://WWW.SUNRISEMOVEMENT.ORG/OUR_ENDORSEMENTS/ALEXANDRIA-OCASIO-CORTEZ-FOR-NY-14
MAIN NARRATIVE
Climate change will claim lives and our earth, if we don’t make major changes immediately.
Immediate action is needed.
• “The Green New Deal calls for achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.”

The fossil fuel industry is wealthy, and therefore powerful.

 ...“fossil fuel billionaires that bankroll both parties.”

Science backs up the claims.

• “The UN’s IPCC report last October by the world’s top climate scientists laid out, in stark terms, how we have 12
years to transform our economy and society to preserve the stable climate that human civilization depended on for
millennia.”

This is an economic endeavor just as much as an environmental one. POC and women are crucial in this fight.
 All the speakers were people of color
STRATEGIES & TACTICS
❑ Promulgation
❑Educates
❑Looks at big picture

❑ Polarization
❑“Will you stand up to the fossil fuel billionaires
who bankroll both parties?”
❑“…any politician that want to be taken
seriously…”
❑Images of the politicians that back the GND
PRESCRIBING COURSES OF ACTION
❑Prescribing the What
❑Lower Carbon Emissions

❑Prescribing the Who

❑Fossil Fuel Industries
❑Government/Legislation
❑Large corporate

❑Prescribing the How

❑Changing Power Structure
❑Eco-conscious infrastructure
PRACTICAL STEPS
❑Providing funding to help communities affected by climate change
❑Repairing and upgrading existing and new infrastructure to withstand extreme weather
❑Investing in renewable power sources
❑Investing in manufacturing and industry to spur growth in the use of clean energy
❑Building or upgrading to energy-efficient, distributed, and “smart" power grids that provide affordable electricity
❑Upgrading all existing buildings and building new ones to achieve maximum energy efficiency
❑Supporting sustainable farming and building a more sustainable and equitable food system
❑Investing in sustainable transportation systems
❑Restoring ecosystems through land preservation and science-based projects
❑Identifying unknown sources of pollution and emissions

HTTPS://WWW.INVESTOPEDIA.COM/THE-GREEN-NEW-DEAL-EXPLAINED-4588463
WHAT’S UNIQUE?
❑ Marks a shift in environmentalism
❑Systemic approach
❑Pulling back from this idea of “virtuous” change

❑Accessibility
❑Short
❑Concise
❑Understandable
❑Can be easily shared
WHAT’S TYPICAL?
❑ Video format
❑ Accessibility
❑Polarizing tendencies of digital and social media
❑Cancel Culture
❑Allows negative feedback from establishments
CONTROLLERS AND THEIR STRATEGIES
❑Majority of GOP Avoidance and Denial
❑Political, scientific, and economic denial
❑Former President Trump
❑Putting the dollar before the planet
❑Fossil Fuel Industry
Suppression and Harassment
❑Corporate America ❑Comments made to AOC
❑AOC called a “fucking bitch” by Representative Ted Yoho

Tactical Framing

HTTPS://WWW.BUZZFEEDNEWS.COM/ARTICLE/CRAIGSILVERMAN/REPUBLICAN-TED-YOHO-CALLS-AOC-BITCH
WAS THE VIDEO SUCCESSFUL?
In general, the video does what it intended to do. However, the GND has been
stretched in a variety of ways, often used as a player in tactical framing.
There were more dislikes than likes on the video. The first page of comments are all
negative. This could indicate that while some used the video for purposes of
education and persuasion, others could be using it for purposes of confirmation bias.
To shift away from this, perhaps drawing in conservatives, especially conservatives
sympathetic to climate action, would be a good course of action. Finding middle
ground, yet not compromising is a fine line in this endeavor.
CONCLUSION

❑ The video is used to shape a new

understanding of climate action
❑ There are pros and cons to the
usage of this rhetoric and medium
❑ The video’s success is debatable,
however many effective tactics
were incorporated