Climate Crimes

Climate crimes are so common they go undetected and unpunished.

A recent book, Unprecedented Crime: Climate Science Denial and Game Changers for Survival, dares to say what many people think. “Fossil Fuel Moguls” are not just greedy people, they are outright criminals, paying the U.S. Congress to promote burning dirty fuels and giving massive subsidies for coal, oil and gas.

Congressional resolution on climate

The proposed resolution 119, “Expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy,” will be voted by the House on July 18. The misleading proposal says in plain words: Congress makes the rules, we don’t care about your health or the future of your family, we do what the Koch Brothers decide.

Carbon fee and dividend policy

Climate experts propose carbon fees and carbon dividends (CF&D), the two sides of the best climate mitigation strategy. A National Center would collect fees and pay dividends to the people. Every household would get the same amount, a benefit to low-income citizens.

According to WSJ, March 21, 2018, Carbon-fee and dividend is a conservative climate solution. “A plan that has the potential of getting bipartisan support is the carbon fee and dividend approach. It would collect carbon fees at the source, making carbon-based products costlier and thus drive down consumption. And the plan would return those fees as dividends to American families; those are spendable dollars that would help the economy.”

Alternative Congressional Resolution

I sent the following resolution to the Arkansas Congressional Delegation.

Expressing the sense of the People that a carbon fee and dividend would be beneficial to the United States economy.

Whereas a carbon fee is a national fee on carbon released from burning fossil fuels;

Whereas a carbon dividend is a payment made to households funded by the carbon fees;

Whereas a carbon fee and dividend will lead to greater economic growth, mitigating the catastrophic destruction and reconstruction from extreme weather events;

Whereas American families will benefit the most from a carbon fee and dividend;

Whereas, according to the Energy Information Administration, in 2016, with massive subsidies paid by people’s taxes, fossil fuels share of energy consumption was 81 percent;

Whereas a carbon fee will decrease the cost of every good manufactured in the United States, by mitigating the damages caused by extreme weather events;

Whereas a carbon fee will avoid disproportionate burdens on certain industries, jobs, States, and geographic regions and would further improve the global competitiveness of the United States;

Whereas American ingenuity has led to innovations in emission-free, resilient, low-cost, distributed solar and wind energy generation, avoiding the use of highly toxic and destructive fracking to produce high-cost fuels exported below cost, destroying private and state-owned land, creating significant cancer deaths from water contamination.

Whereas United States Energy Policy should encourage continued private sector innovation and development, with incentives for zero-emissions, repairable, upgradable, recyclable, and waste-free product manufacturing;

Whereas the rapid transition from fossil fuel dependency to on-site generation of distributed solar and wind energy, with grid power storage, and resilient microgrid architectures, increases the United States ability to survive extreme weather events;

Whereas a carbon fee and dividend would improve America’s global competitiveness to keep up with first world nations using solar and wind emission-free energy solutions that do not impose exorbitant severe weather burden and loss of life;

Whereas the Congress and the President should stop all incentives and promotions of fossil fuels that discourage and penalize the use of solar and wind electric generation, and the use of efficient public transportation and electric vehicles, in use for many years in Japan, China, Germany, and most EU countries.

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives that it is the sense of the People a Carbon fee and dividend policy would be beneficial to American families and businesses and is in the best interest of the United States. All subsidies for fossil fuels and all tariffs on solar systems should be stopped. Incentives should be provided for wind and solar systems, grid power storage, public transportation, and electric cars, buses and semi-trucks.

Dr. Luis Contreras