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climate change
Story by Steve Scholl
Climate change was the subject of a presentation for Ashby Village members and friends on March 2. Brian Cronin, Outreach Leader for the local chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, described a proposed response to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Unlike other organizations that gather information on the effects of climate change, the grass-roots Citizens’ Climate Lobby focuses instead on what to do about it.
The Lobby proposes a “carbon fee and dividend” that would use the power of the marketplace to effect change. A fee would be imposed on the extraction of oil and gas, based on the carbon dioxide that would be produced by their combustion. According to Mr. Cronin, research has shown that increasing the price of fossil fuels, such as gasoline, would significantly reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by encouraging use of alternative energy sources. The net proceeds of the carbon fee would be returned to American households through a proposed dividend, thus offsetting the impact of higher prices for fossil fuel. Because the proposed dividend would be the same for every household, its economic effect would be mildly progressive.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a non-partisan organization. In Congress, supporters of the carbon fee and dividend proposal have formed a Climate Solutions Caucus, which currently includes 35 Republicans and an equal number of Democrats. Ashby Village members in attendance discussed the ideas presented. Points raised included the challenge of distributing dividends to everyone in the country and the question of how social justice issues might be addressed.
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