To the editor:
Climate: “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” — “The Lorax,” Dr. Seuss.
The golden thread in the historical tapestry of this great nation has been woven “By the people, for the people and of the people.”
It has only been the collective roar of the people capable of shifting the rooted pillars of politics, establishing fair taxation, the Declaration of Independence, the Abolition Movement, states’ rights, women’s rights, Prohibition, labor rights, civil rights and anti-war movements.
We are currently in the midst of the next and perhaps the greatest movement to define not only America but mankind, the environmental movement and the fight against global warming.
Whatever side of the political aisle you sit on, we must all as a human species face forward.
Thoughtful dialogue and conscientious decision making regarding the issue of climate change must be rooted in scientific evidence. Carbon emissions ARE indisputably the source of climate change, if you consider scientific evidence to be valid.
It has been observed and documented. There is consensus.
Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, non-partisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change.
The goal of CCL is not to argue the “problem” but to reduce or eliminate the scientifically recognized causes of climate change. The pursuit of solutions to carbon emissions and climate change is what defines CCL as the predominate proactive voice of the people.
CCL chooses to pursue non-partisan, solution-oriented strategies such as the Carbon Fee and Dividend Revenue to place the burden and social cost of burning fossil fuels where they belong; on the spreadsheet of those who are the heaviest users: corporations not individuals, then redistribute that environmental/social cost to the American people
A national carbon price, with full revenue return and border adjustments, will do four things: internalize the social cost of carbon-based fuels, rapidly achieve large emission reductions, stimulate the economy and recruit global participation.
We are a nation with a conscience, we are a people privileged to have a voice. It is time to acknowledge scientific fact and embrace solutions, cast aside your party alliance, and engage your voice.
Demand social solutions without making the working class pay. Demand a free market solution. Put a price on carbon and distribute that revenue to taxpayers. Reward corporations for doing the right thing.
Bainbridge Island, demand a healthy planet. We ARE the voice of the next and perhaps the most imperative movement in the history of mankind.
KATE DANIHER
Bainbridge Island
