The Green New Deal in the Adirondacks: Imagining A Green Future in Rural America

House Resolution 109 (H. Res. 109), legislation presented in 2019 by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachucettes Senator Ed Markey, proposes for the creation of a Green New Deal (GND). This proposal is a set of principles that defines problems that must be addressed to reach a more sustainable U.S., effectively creating a conversation around pressing environmental, economic, and social challenges. The revolutionary nature of this legislation is commonly analyzed with regards to urban spaces in America. Rural and impoverished communities in America are often ignored in the climate conversation, making it necessary to address the needs of such communities in future policies. This thesis explores the potential of implementing Green New Deal policies in the Adirondack Park while attempting to understand how to address social and ecological issues in an equitable manner. It does so by looking at the history of political consciousness in the region through a combination of archival and ethnographic methodologies. Specifically, the thesis reconstructs the tensions that have pitted local residents and environmental activism against one another in struggles to determine the future of the Adirondack Park. The research has the potential to address larger questions of how to bridge common gaps in environmental justice and how politics and economics shape human interaction with nature.