Come Together on Carbon
More and more Republican politicians are on board with legislation to limit climate damage by reducing carbon emissions. Do our conservative and liberal leaders need to agree on all issues related to a warming climate? No. They have diverse, yet complimentary ideas about how to preserve our common home and its warming climate.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina suggests carbon pricing in the form of a "border adjusted carbon tax" on imports. Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota brought up taxing carbon from China and Russia as a way of strengthening America's foreign policy. And Utah's Rep. John Curtis started the Conservative Climate Caucus to educate House Republicans on climate policies and legislation consistent with conservative values. Finally, Sen. Mitt Romney openly said that "if you are serious about (a healthy) climate, put a price on carbon."
All of these ideas can be part of a well-designed price on carbon. First, imposing a steadily increasing carbon price would speed the transition to cleaner energy throughout the entire economy, from the biggest industries to individual consumer choices. Second, the revenue from the carbon price could be allocated to Americans as a dividend or "carbon cashback," protecting Americans from higher costs. Third, placing a surcharge on carbon-intensive products from other countries would impose international pressure to transition to cleaner energy. Canada already has a carbon-pricing system that has been shown to reduce emissions.
Do our members of Congress need the majority of Americans who want something done about our warming climate to speak up? Yes. Maybe it is your concern about the air you breathe—especially during the fire season—or the diminishing snowpack threatening our water supply or the drying lakebed of the Great Salt Lake causing toxic dust storms and disrupting the migratory home of many birds. We should not let disagreements on climate issues stand in the way of problem-solving legislation.
It is time for our elected officials to come on board with a renewed commitment to climate policy discussions. We should not wait any longer, we need to transition to clean energy. And we have broad agreement on policies that can get us there. Let's ask Senators Romney and Lee and Representatives Curtis, Moore, Owens and Stewart to act swiftly on federal legislation that preserves the climate of our communities.
DANIEL OLSSEN
South Salt Lake
Shame on Mike Lee
In Utah—and particularly outside of Salt Lake County—one only has to be white, male and LDS to be elected. Sometimes, this results in a decent candidate and an honorable officeholder, such as Sen. Mitt Romney.
However, this system also puts people like Sen. Mike Lee in office. His actions—like his shameful, racist and sexist treatment of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Katanji Brown Jackson—reflect poorly on Utah and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as Brigham Young University, as Lee is a representative of all of these. The senator lacks even common decency and does not deserve to continue to represent Utah.
TED OTTINGER
Taylorsville
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