This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
I grew up in the '60s, when the hazy sky color, smell of nasty air, polluted rivers and bounties on "harmful" animals, from coyotes to owls, were considered the price of prosperity.
"Poison is progress." It was the price we seemed willing to pay for a new and coveted lifestyle. The '70s brought on more of the same reality. An oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara killed thousands of seabirds, sea lions and elephant seals. Giant sequoias were decimated. Oil soaked rivers caught fire. We had to recalibrate.
In 1970, 20 million people hit the streets for our first Earth Day. We called for a change that resulted in the Environmental Protection Agency which, among other successes, removed brain-damaging lead from our gasoline. Then came the Clean Air and Water Acts which, by 1990, had saved many lives and health-care dollars. We the citizens got it right! And we were supported by President Nixon, a moderate Republican.
We come to another reality that we need to get right, the reality of damage to our climate. Triple digit temperatures, toxic algal blooms, forest destroying pine beetles, crop-destroying drought and extreme weather events have become the new poison.
Many emotions surround the issue of a changing climate, from sorrow to anxiety to throwing our hands in the air because we don't know where to begin to help with the problem. Yet our history tells us that standing up helps us cross the bridges over troubled waters. How can we get it right again? We need legislation for climate solutions. And that is exactly what the nonpartisan grassroots volunteer organization Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) is working towards. With 97 percent of climate scientists behind them, CCL volunteers are educating the public, writing letters to the editor, calling, writing and meeting with congressional representatives, making lasting connections and creating political will for climate solutions.
What is Citizens' Climate Lobby's proposal for recalibrating? CCL proposes a carbon fee and dividend (CF&D) plan that places a predictable, increasing fee on fossil fuels and the greenhouse gases they emit. This fee is then returned to households each month. Studies predict that 53 percent of U.S. households would receive a net financial benefit as the dividend exceeds the rising cost of household goods. The plan also places a border tax on imported foreign goods made using fossil fuels, encouraging other countries to transition to renewable energy sources to produce their products. In just 20 years, studies show that carbon fee and dividend would greatly reduce carbon emissions while adding 2.1 million jobs (many in the clean energy sector) all without big government regulations. It is actually amazingly simple. Market forces instead of big government are allowed to put us on a path to lower-cost renewable energy and a low-carbon future. If (when) Congress passes this legislation, the U.S. will be on its way to complying with the Paris agreement!
With 418 chapters worldwide, CCL'ers are influencing their representatives to take action on climate policy. In the US, CCL is influencing members of Congress to join the Climate Solutions Caucus which now has 24 Republicans and 24 Democrats who are discussing and putting forth bills on climate, thinking of us when they vote. Our own Rep. Mia Love is an influential member of this caucus.
If you want to know more, but do not know where to start, take a look at citizensclimatelobby.org. They can support you in finding your way to having a meaningful voice in our future. You can take the first step by asking your representative to support the carbon fee and dividend. Let's create safe and healthy communities where poison is not progress. Let's get it right again!
Karen Jackson, Salt Lake City, is a pediatric nurse practitioner and Citizens' Climate Lobby volunteer.