A fee on fossil fuels needed
The old chestnut that “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it,” came to mind while reading the July 21 editorial, “Record heat again.”
Unfortunately, we all have been doing something about our planet getting hotter because of burning fossil fuels. Hotter air also holds more moisture, so we see ever more frequent extreme rainfall. The recent disastrous flooding in Fayette County and West Virginia are examples.
We created this mess by treating our atmosphere like an open sewer. We need to put a gradually rising fee on fossil fuels at their source, and have all collected funds returned equally to U.S. citizens. Such a revenue-neutral policy is endorsed by Nobel Laureate Gary Becker and former Secretary of State George Shultz. Fiscal conservatives like this “carrot” incentive because it creates millions of new jobs and boosts our economy. Social conservatives like it because the dividend protects poor- and middle-income households while we all become better stewards of the planet.
My two daughters have lived their entire lives with one new weather record after the other. We now know what the best first step our nation should take to drastically cut greenhouse gas pollution. Let’s stop debating and complaining and start doing something big, to fit the size of this problem.
Ray Roberts
Upper St. Clair
Roberts is the Pennsylvania co-coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.