We know the world is warming and many of us want to save the planet, yet we seem totally unable to stop making things worse. Why is that so hard to do? It seems too overwhelming and amorphous.
Part of the problem is the lack of transparency. There is continuous greenwashing done by those invested in the status quo and above all the products and services we use have no price indicator for damage done to the environment, nor the social injustice done to the less advantaged. That is in part because those providers pay no price for doing that damage.
There must be a feedback mechanism so we know what is a problem and what is not. This will take governmental action. Have you asked for it? Politicians will do the hard things only when their constituents demand it of them. Without public demand, taking bold action will just land them out of office.
The average American emits five times the greenhouse gases compared to the world wide average. The world as a whole must reduce its emissions to avoid collapse. The affluent American uses five times the average American amount of carbon-emitting energy. They do it because they have the cash to do so. Yet even with this much bigger use of energy-carbon, it makes up a smaller part of their living expenses.
To dissuade carbon usage and to cover the cost of transitioning off carbon, I believe there should be an ever higher price paid as one uses more and more than one’s fair share. The fee and dividend approach the Citizens’ Climate Lobby has come up with is a solution that does this on a national level.
Here in Vermont, the Legislature must be pushed to price electricity on a sliding scale with the lowest users paying a lower rate and as usage goes up, so does the price per kilowatt. We are in the process of exchanging clean electricity for dirty fossil fuels for heating and transportation. There will have to be a credit built in for the higher usage driven by clean and efficient heat pumps and electric, vehicles as these must be encouraged. It must still be weighted to avoid overconsumption.
It is up to you. Let your legislators know you want action now. Talk to your friends and neighbors about these issues. Join a group working on these issues. If we do not make structural changes, we will not succeed, and without the public requiring those structural changes, they cannot happen.
Henry Swayze
Tunbridge
