Biden Proposed Civilian Climate Corp To Create Jobs, Fight Climate Change. Is It Big Enough?

President Joe Biden is creating a Civilian Climate Corp,
modeled on the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 
1930s.  Will it be as successful as that 
Great Depression-era project?

 When my dad was alive, he told me stories about the Civilian Conservation Corps or CCC during the 1930s Great Depression, and how the work helped get people back on their feet and gave them a sense of purpose.  

Now, the world is facing another crisis in the form of climate change. President Joe Biden, as you might have heard on the news, is proposing an "American Climate Corp."

According to NPR: 

"The White House on Wednesday unveiled a new climate jobs training program that it says could put 20,000 people to work in its first year on projects like restoring land, improving communities' resilience to natural disasters and deploying clean energy"

The American Climate Corps is intentionally modeled after the Depression-era  CCC. Participants will be paid, and most jobs in the Climate Corps won't require previous experience. The Biden administration is trying to establish new regulations that would make it easier for participants to enter the federal public service after the program, NPR reports. 

So far, the American Climate Corp sounds more low-key than the Civilian Conservation Corps nine decades ago. As History.com describes it: 

"The Civilian Conservation Corps was a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression. Considered by many to be one of the most successful of Roosevelt's New Deal programs, the CCC planted more than three billion trees and constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks nationwide during its nine years of existence.  The CCC helped to shape the modern national and state park systems we enjoy today,"

My dad (who everybody called Red) did not participate in the CCC. But judging from the conversations I had with Red, it helped inspired in him a love and fascination with nature and the environment. That embrace of the natural world was passed down to me and my two sisters. I bet the same thing happened to millions of families, because of the CCC.

It appears the Biden administration has similar lofty goals. NPR again:

"President Biden's climate policy advisor Ali Zaidi told reporters that the program has broader goals beyond addressing the climate crisis. 

'We're opening up pathways to good-paying careers, lifetimes of being involved in the work of making our communities more fair, more sustainable, more resilient,' Zaidi said."

Sure, but this is much smaller than the CCC, despite its obvious benefits.  As the Washington Post reports, the program will hire more than 20,000 young people in skills that fight climate change, such as installing solar panels, restoring coastal wetlands and retrofitting homes to become more energy-efficient. 

Critics are saying Biden's goals for the Climate Corps aren't lofty enough. Lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass wanted more funding for the climate corps, So already, we know this won't be as ambitious as the 1930s CCC.

Biden's Climate Corp seems to have several purposed. Yes, fighting climate change is a biggie. It also looks like he's trying to shore up support among younger voters, who tend to be much concerned about climate change than a lot of Boomer wandering around out there. 

It's also a jobs program, as the Biden administration is emphasizing well paying union jobs, which he hopes the Climate Corp will help create. 

When this thing is set up, people will be able to log onto a new web site where they can learn about the program and sign up for training or jobs. 

 

 

There is another key difference, too. While the Conservation Corps primarily employed young, white men, the White House says that the American Climate Corps is designed to attract participants from disadvantaged communities disproportionately impacted by the changing climate.