Green New Deal-inspired project envisions world where 'Earth Credits' determine 'your property tax'
An architecture course at the Pratt Institute encouraged students to take a "utopian approach" to envisioning a "Green New World."
One student proposed a system that would give each individual an Earth Credit Score based on their purchases and behavior.
Professors at Pratt University hosted an architecture class for students to envision “Green New Worlds.” Drawing inspiration from the Green New Deal and the Climate Justice Alliance, students imagined what the future would look like.
While some of the student’s recommendations focus on architecture, they also discuss broad social and legislative changes.
One student, looking at healthcare, envisioned improved transportation infrastructure, as well as “a Health New Deal” which would be “anchored by the passing of universal basic income and Medicare for All.”
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The student also prioritizes the “partnerships with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the G7.” This partnership would” perform climate disaster simulations” to “realize who best to effectively take charge”
Another student’s project created a roadmap for the potential role that HOAs would play in this “Green New World,” including a mobile app that would catalog the environmental impact of all goods “from mulch to cars.”
This app, tracking one’s behavior, would provide individuals with “Earth Credits.” These credits would be based on one’s “groceries, puchased (sic) items, horticulture, volunteering, transportation methods, energy usage, water usage, and charitable donations.”
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Keeping a positive credit score would allow students to receive tuition deductions, tax exemptions, and relief from HOA fees. Whereas bad credit scores will “increase your property tax.”
The HOA would also weigh your trash, charging you for anything you must throw away, while recycling of compost, paper, plastics, glass, and metal will be free.
To ensure an accurate Earth Credit Score, the HOA would have several tools. Beyond “providing free internet access” it would also connect to one’s credit card to track their purchases.
The professors responsible for the program, Jason Lee and Meredith Tenhoor, encouraged students to take “a utopian approach.”
Tenhoor encouraged her students to think outside of the box saying, “our current system—what people call ‘the market’—is entirely invented, and there is no reason why we can’t invent another system that serves our planet and its people better.” It was this that she “hoped our students would connect to and advance.”
The Green New Deal, proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has received a great deal of support and attention, particularly among young Americans. However, as Campus Reform learned in 2019, students were not as likely to support the progressive plan after learning what was in it.
Watch the full video above to see their responses.
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