And the Answer is ...

Roscommon/Crawford Chapter

And the answer is …

Wait a minute! Wait a minute, what is the question?


As the popular game show Jeopardy! teaches, the appropriate answer depends upon the precise phrasing of the question. Before hearing the question, you should know it is probably the most important question of our time. By the way, this blog also yields the answer we promised to provide in our last blog. Here is the question:

What shall we do about climate change? What shall we do to save ours and the next generation of humans, animals, and plants from the ravages of floods, fires, and increasing temperatures that wreak havoc with our planet?

The answer is … we must reduce man-made emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. We must stop wanton polluting of the thing we need most for life to continue as we know it, and as our parents and theirs knew it in their lifetimes.


Reducing carbon dioxide emissions sounds easy, but how can we reduce using fossil fuels without sacrificing our low-cost energy for power, heat, and transportation? These important energy sources for us have formed the bedrock of our energy supply for the past 150 years. Can we suddenly change to new forms of energy without crippling our society?


Most nations around the world have come to the same answer. Governments must tax fossil fuels in a manner that will discourage their use and encourage the use of alternative, renewable, non-polluting energy sources. Fortunately, we already have alternative forms of energy that are available virtually everywhere in the world.


Don’t feel sorry for the existing fossil fuel suppliers, they are culpable for our current problem. They have known of the problem of polluting our atmosphere for a long time. You might be surprised by an advertisement in Life Magazine in 1962 when a leading oil company paid for a two full-page ad with an attractive picture of a glacier. Below the picture was their boast: “Each day Humble [Oil] supplies enough energy to melt 7 million tons of glacier.”

They did and it did.

Discussions about taxing fossil fuels have been ongoing among industrialized nations for years. The tax is generally known as a carbon tax and it has been discussed since the Kyoto Accords of 1997. As of January 2018, 42 national and 25 sub-national governments have instituted some form of carbon tax pricing. These include both carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes and cover about 22 percent of worldwide emissions. The US government is noteworthy by its absence of action on this issue despite the warnings that began in 1978.

But there is reason for optimism. Our parent organization, Citizens Climate Lobby, has developed a bill, Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, that will mandate action for our nation and stimulate corresponding action by other nations. The idea is to reduce volume use of fossil fuels by taxing the source of pollutants at the well head. When the bill becomes law, fossil fuel energy companies will be required to pay a tax depending upon the type of material extracted (coal, oil or gas), and the amount of carbon dioxide expected from the extraction. The bill provides that 100% of the tax will be returned to Americans in the form of a monthly dividend (hence the name “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend)”. American families will be able to spend their dividend checks however they want.


The dividends that most families will receive will boost their incomes more than their added energy costs because the wealthiest Americans typically use more energy and will therefore pay proportionately more of the added costs. (Think weekend airplane trips and the ‘fuelish cost’ for travel to winter vacation spots to play golf). Numerous economic studies of this proposal have been conducted. All show the same results of added income for lower- and middle-class families, more jobs for Americans, and fewer health problems due to cleaner air.


The initial impact of the tax will result in a slight increase in the cost of energy derived from fossil fuels. This will stimulate fossil fuel energy consumers to conserve energy and promote the use of renewable energy sources that will become proportionately lower cost. The bill that Citizens Climate Lobby created is known as House Resolution #763 and it was introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives in 2019. As the single most far-reaching piece of climate legislation pending, with 76 congressional co-sponsors, it currently stands the best chance of becoming law after a change in government in 2021. That’s particularly true since the majority of Republican voters say they would support a carbon tax.


HR 763 seems the right solution: Tax the polluters, return the tax money to all of us and reap the benefits of cleaner air, more jobs, and helping fix the problem of climate change. All we need do is convince our politicians to do what we think is right by voting yes on House Bill 763. It is imperative that we take action soon.


Want more info or have a question? See the website link here or contact any of the Roscommon/Crawford Chapter members and we’ll seek to find an answer for you.

https://citizensclimatelobby.org/energy-innovation-and-carbon-dividend-act/