Out of respect for the traditions of Passover and Easter, which coincide this week, and for this month of remembrance that reminds us of the humanity of the Arabs who helped save thousands of Armenian Christians from the first genocide of the 20th century, may we all join hands across the secular/religious divide and agree that Sean Spicer, press secretary for President Donald Trump, is one of the most ignorant morons to ever stand at a podium in Washington, D.C.?
Spicer is the perfect example of why there must be a division between church and state — for his own ignorance of the Jewish holocaust, or anything else outside of his very narrow understanding of self-interest politics, is a threat to anyone he perceives as “other.”
What is, of course, more horrifying is that Spicer’s ignorance embodies the lack of tolerance expressed by his master, who now holds the future of our country and the world in his small hands. Trump is attacking people of color, women and regulations that protect the people he has sworn to protect, and even climate change itself. These are all expressions of his arrogance and ignorance. It is because of this and much more that I am donating my editorial column this week to those who are challenging these prejudices, delusions of the soul if you will, with a more sane approach to global warming — saving our planet for all of humanity regardless of religion, nationality or race.
— James Preston Allen, Publisher
As White House Rolls Back Climate Rules, Congress Must Step In
By Mark Reynolds, Executive Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Earth Day arrives this year with serious questions about America’s commitment to preserve a clean environment and limit the risks posed by climate change. That’s because on March 28, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to start the process of dismantling several initiatives started during the Barack Obama administration to reduce emissions that drive climate change and pollution that jeopardizes the air we breathe and the water we drink.
These initiatives became necessary when Congress failed in 2010 to enact legislation to price carbon. When control of the House of Representatives shifted to Republicans in 2011, efforts to legislate climate solutions came to a screeching halt. Faced with numerous impacts from climate change — rising seas, warmer temperatures, more severe weather, wildfires, health risks — Obama took several steps to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions under the Climate Action Plan.
The most important of these steps was the Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants 32 percent by 2030. The plan became an essential element in the U.S. commitment to the Paris Climate Accord, whereby America pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025.
Without the plan, the U.S. is unlikely to meet its Paris commitment, a tremendous setback in global efforts to keep temperatures from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Crossing that threshold, scientists warn, will lead to catastrophic consequences that the world is ill-prepared to handle – food shortages, coastal flooding, epidemics, mass migrations, destabilized nations.
With the executive branch now shirking any responsibility to deal with climate change, Congress must step into the breach. America can meet its obligation — and then some — with a market-based solution that appeals to policymakers across the political spectrum: a steadily rising fee on carbon with revenue returned to households.
Known as Carbon Fee and Dividend, the policy would assess a fee on the carbon dioxide content of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – at or near the first point sale. The fee would start at $15 per ton of carbon dioxide and increase $10 per ton each year, sending a powerful signal to the marketplace that moves investments and behavior toward clean energy and efficiency. At the same time, revenue from the fee would be returned equally to all households, shielding families from the economic impact of the carbon fee, with many households actually coming out ahead.
A study released in 2014 by Regional Economic Models Inc., examined this proposal to determine its environmental and economic impact over a 20-year period. The REMI study found that after 20 years, the policy would cut carbon dioxide emissions by half. In a finding that shatters the myth that carbon pricing would destroy the economy, the study showed that Carbon Fee and Dividend would add 2.8 million jobs.
A similar plan was proposed in February by the Climate Leadership Council, a conservative group led by Republican luminaries that includes former Secretaries of State and Treasury George Shultz and James Baker. While the council plan is slightly different – the price starts higher and increases more slowly – the basic pillars are the same: Put a fee on carbon and give the revenue back to households.
What are the chances that a Republican-controlled Congress will consider climate legislation? Much better than most people realize.
With each week, more and more Republicans are joining the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus, a place free of the toxic rhetoric surrounding the climate issue, where equal numbers of Republicans and Democrats come together to listen to one another, share ideas and find common ground for effective solutions to climate change. The caucus has 38 members, 19 of them from the GOP side of the aisle.
This Earth Day, as we take stock of the state of our world and the steps needed to preserve a hospitable climate, Americans should be alarmed by the callous disregard the Trump administration has toward the threat of global warming. Fortunately, we have another branch of government that can correct Trump’s misguided policies. By enacting a fee on carbon with revenue returned to households, Congress can avert disaster, create jobs and reassert U.S. leadership on the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.