Carbon Fee and Dividend
Here in good ol’ Santa Barbara, I attend meetings of the local chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, in support of the “Carbon Fee and Dividend.” We’re all encouraged to write letters to editors of various media outlets, and I thought I’d share this one, from the chapter’s executive director, that was published in one of our local papers.
2017, the hottest non-El Niño year on record, saw somewhere between $300 and $400 billion in damage from 17 different extreme weather events costing more than $1 billion, and each worsened by rising global temperatures.
What we do about this is up to all of us.
Silence is consent.
That won’t be happening around here.
Craig,
Great ! Just what the economy needs another impractical government boondoggle to waste taxpayer and create even more unproductive confusion and red tape !
There’s a reason why your “local chapter’s executive director” is running the country’s finances (although he probably couldn’t do a worse job) , no sensible person want’s even more crazy poorly conceived unworkable attempts at social engineering !
Want do something far cheaper easier and more productive ?
Just start organizing and lobbying your Congressional Representatives and Senators (including the White House ) to forbid ships rigged for bunker oil entering American harbours or carrying US trade.
The reduction of just 2 ships out of 100,000 would prevent more harmful emission than any daft “Carbon Fee and Dividend.” scheme.
Too hard?
Okay, just lobby the state of California or even Santa Barbara to enforce existing pollution laws (including noise) and make 2 and 4 stroke lawn mowers illegal.
Replacing 72 million mowers (and other horticultural equipment) with electric versions would provide infinitely more jobs, economic activity and the environmental benefits would measurable from day one.
Never mind that on an average mowers emit about 286 lbs of greenhouse gas per year x 72 = 2,059,200,00000 lbs or 9340375 tonnes. That’s about 7% of California’s emissions.
In addition you would save 20 million tons of fuel oil spilled annually by people fill these little machines.
But no,….far better to hold meetings talking about imposing idiotic and unworkable schemes on others., rather than do something practical.