"We Need a Green New Deal"

Last Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called on Obama and the E.U. to create a plan to confront the twin climate and economic crises.

He appealed for a modern, global environmental equivalent of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's 1930s "New Deal," which lifted the United States out of the Great Depression. "We need a Green New Deal," Ban declared. Coping with the financial crisis would need a "massive stimulus," he added. "A big part of that spending should be an investment -- an investment in a green future."

This sentiment has been echoed by many, including the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP)under its Green Economy Initiative. The Green Economy Initiative is a partnership between UNEP and leading economists to provide research on creating a new green economy.

A Green New Deal economic stimulus package would invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy, support a low-carbon economy, and would create millions of green collar jobs.