Local opinion: Fossil fuels are killing the planet

A global problem requires a global solution. The earth is experiencing the hottest temperatures it has seen for 125,000 years. The poles are rapidly losing frozen water to the oceans and sea levels are rising. The oceans are warming fueling more powerful hurricanes and typhoons. As oceans absorb CO2, they convert a portion of CO2 to carbonic acid and oceans become more acidic. Global wildfires destroy forests and smoke from those wildfires exacerbates lung disease. Melting Himalayan glaciers bring massive flooding. Once those glaciers are gone, vast populations without water will be forced to migrate. On and on the disasters go throughout the world. The problem is global, and the solution must be global using the most powerful tool we have. We know the cause of global warming — burning fossil fuels.

We must transition our economy to sustainably produced electricity. The technology to do that is available and reliable. But continuing to use fossil fuels just makes the blanket we have placed in our atmosphere heavier and heavier.

Every gallon of gasoline that is burned in a car produces 19.6 pounds of CO2 that rises into the atmosphere acting like a heavy quilt on a bed; heat that formerly bounced off the earth and into outer space is now simply trapped in the atmosphere. This summer is hot; next summer will likely be hotter yet.

Drive down any interstate, any highway, any road, any street, and you can get a sense of how massive the problem is. The world is packed with cars, scooters, tuk-tuks, and trucks belching CO2. Trains and planes release plumes of gas, mostly CO2. Huge container ships send diesel smoke into the atmosphere. Air conditioners powered by electricity derived from burning fossil fuels struggle to overcome the heat they have helped to create.

We must stop the use of fossil fuels as quickly as possible. That transition will be massive and global and requires the use of the most powerful tool we have— the global economy.

Carbon pollution must be taxed, and the burden of that tax must be equitably applied. Adopting a national carbon fee and dividend and imposing that fee not only on ourselves but also on imported goods can reduce U.S. and global emissions rapidly and equitably. How might such a fee work?

A slowly rising tax on fossil fuel will make fossil fuel less attractive than carbon free renewably produced electricity. The manufacturer who uses clean energy will have a lower production cost than a manufacturer using fossil fuel. Of course, that fee will drive the costs of goods up, but that cost can be offset by returning the carbon fee to consumers.

Economic modeling reveals that 80% of the population will receive a rebated fee equal to or greater than the increased cost due to the tax. Imposing the same fee on imported goods will incentivize foreign producers to adopt clean energy as well. Countries, wanting access to the U.S. market will reduce their use of fossil fuels. A carbon tax, distributed to the populace, and a carbon border tariff on imported goods will act more quickly than any other single thing we can do to reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuel. It isn’t all we must do, but it is the most impactful thing we can do.

Unrelenting heat is killing people, animals, and crops; that’s a consequence of sending heat trapping gas into our atmosphere. We can over the long term reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere, but in the near term we must stop making the problem worse. The best way to do that is taxing carbon pollution, rebating the tax to the public, and placing the same tax on imports. Multiple bills to price carbon pollution at its actual cost have been introduced. (See HR-2307 and others). Arizona’s elected representatives must support them.