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Andrew Yang on Environment

Democratic Presidential Challenger & Tech CEO

 


Eliminate the penny to speed up economy & save environment

Q: You've got several unconventional issues on your website, regulating online poker, empowering MMA fighters, and eliminating the penny. Are those issues that you wish you were getting more attention in this race?

YANG: I mean, they're relatively minor in the scheme of American life, but I'm going to use the penny as an example. Did you know it costs more than one cent to produce each penny? It's bad for the environment. We're spending $25 million on producing pennies more than they're worth. And who wants to get stuck behind that person in line? I don't. So getting rid of the pennies would actually help speed up our economy and save our environment.

Q: So what happens if you owe 16 cents?

YANG: I don't know. Other countries have done the same thing. Things get priced in fives and zeros. It'd be like 15 cents, 20 cents.

Source: CNN N. H. Town Hall on eve of 2020 N. H. primary , Feb 5, 2020

Reformulate GDP to account for clean air & clean water

Q: What would you do to deal with this climate crisis?

YANG: The first thing I would do is rejoin the Paris Accords. And then I would we redefine our economic bench marks actually to include environmental sustainability. Because right now, the trap that Democrats are in is that, we're being told that moving towards a green economy is bad for jobs, it's bad for business, and that couldn't be further from the truth. We actually need to redefine our economic measurements to include clean air and clean water and let America.

Q: How do you change that?

YANG: Well the great thing is we made up GPD almost 100 years ago, really. And even the inventor of GPD at the time said this is a terrible measurement for national well-being and we should never use it as that. Let's upgrade it with a new score card that includes our environmental sustainability, health and life expectancy. [Then we won't] fall into this false dichotomy that what's good for the planet is bad for the economy.

Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats) , Sep 4, 2019

Clean water is a fundamental human right

YANG: I'm the parent of two young boys, one of whom is autistic. And, as a parent, when you have your kids drinking water, there's always something in the back of your mind, which is, is this safe? And I just came from Flint. The folks in Flint discovered that their water was toxic after the fact and are still recovering. So, to me, safe drinking water is a fundamental human right. And that, if you're an American, you should not be stressed out about the water that you're drinking and your kids are drinking.

And this is, again, the problem with having the almighty dollar running our society, where people look up and say, "oh, replacing the pipes is expensive." Are you kidding me? You know what is expensive? Poisoning our kids.

Source: CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall marathon (10 Democrats) , Sep 4, 2019

Constitutional amendment to safeguard environment

I would end all fossil fuel subsidies and I'll take it a step further. I proposed a constitutional amendment that makes it the responsibility of the United States government to safeguard and protect our environment for future generations. We need to move towards sustainable energy.

We need to start reverse the damage we're doing to our environment. It's not enough to do less of the bad, we have to do some of the good.

Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary) , Sep 4, 2019

Help farmers modernize in sustainable way

Q: What about farming communities vs. the environment?

YANG: We need to help farmers modernize their land use in terms of the environmental impact. We have to try and help farmers modernize and rotate plant crops and try and actually measure the impact they're having on the environment. If you are farming in a responsible and sustainable way, that we can actually make family businesses possible by supporting a food ecosystem that includes more farm-to-table dining.

Source: Climate Crisis Town Hall (CNN 2019 Democratic primary) , Sep 4, 2019

Thorium-based nuclear plants are safe and reliable

Q: Do you think nuclear energy should be part of the U.S.'s decarbonizing toolbox? Do you support the construction of new nuclear energy plants? Providing federal support to keep existing ones online?

Yang: "Yes. Nuclear energy has been shown to be very environmentally friendly and cheap. Any realistic plan to decarbonize needs to include nuclear power. Most people think of Homer Simpson when they think of nuclear power, but the truth is that we have much safer nuclear technology that doesn't result in unmanageable nuclear waste or a significant threat of meltdown. These thorium-based nuclear plants use an abundant natural element that could provide hundreds of years of power to the United States with little environmental impact."

Source: 2019 "Meet the Candidates" (NY Times.com) , Apr 18, 2019

Nuclear isn't perfect, but it's a solid solution for now

Nuclear energy is a relatively low-impact option for generating electricity. While the mining and enrichment of uranium has environmental impacts, and the storing of nuclear waste isn't easy, it is overall an efficient way to generate energy. With modern safety standards, it's also a safe way to generate electricity. The Nuclear Regulatory Committee standards require that a risk assessment shows there less than a one-in-a-million chance of any radioactivity to be released to the environment. Nuclear isn't a perfect solution, but it's a solid solution for now, and a technology we should invest in as we move to a future powered primarily by renewable energy. Nuclear power is one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly paths forward to a more sustainable future.

As President, I will work to make it easier for new nuclear plants to open up in appropriate areas to increase the amount of nuclear energy America uses.

Source: 2020 presidential campaign website Yang2020.com , Mar 29, 2019

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Other big-city mayors on Environment: Andrew Yang on other issues:

Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee)
Bill de Blasio (D,NYC)
Rahm Emanuel (D,Chicago)
Bob Filner (D,San Diego)
Steven Fulop (D,Jersey City)
Eric Garcetti (D,Los Angeles)
Mike Rawlings (D,Dallas)
Marty Walsh (D,Boston)

Former Mayors:
Rocky Anderson (I,Salt Lake City)
Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee,WI)
Mike Bloomberg (I,New York City)
Cory Booker (D,Newark,NJ)
Jerry Brown (D,Oakland,CA)
Julian Castro (D,San Antonio,TX)
Rudy Giuliani (R,New York City)
Phil Gordon (D,Phoenix)
Tom Menino (D,Boston)
Dennis Kucinch (D,Cleveland,OH)
Michael Nutter (D,Philadelphia)
Sarah Palin (R,Wasilla,AK)
Annise Parker (D,Houston)
Jerry Sanders (R,San Diego)
Antonio Villaraigosa (D,Los Angeles)
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Page last updated: Mar 07, 2022