Editor’s note: This commentary is by Lisa Jablow of Brattleboro.
[I] am not an economist; nor am I an ecologist, a philosopher, a politician, or a scientist. I am not what Malvina Reynolds, in her 1962 song “Little Boxes” (“Weeds” fans will recognize it), called a “business executive.” I am just a reasonably intelligent, ordinary person who, unabashedly, cares very deeply about the planet and all the living things on it.
Having occupied the planet for more than a few decades, and having observed the descent into the parlous state in which we now find ourselves, I do, nonetheless, feel qualified to state with full assurance that it is time for carbon pricing.
This is certainly not a new concept. It has been around for some time now and is actually working quite successfully in a number of places. But it is one of those issues that tend to become mired in the quicksand of politics and its handmaiden, money. While money doesn’t drive everything, it drives a lot, and a lot more than it should. When you have it you don’t want to lose it, and you want more.
Big corporations, such as fuel companies, have it and they behave accordingly. At this point in time only the most regressive thinkers dispute the phenomenon of global warming and the role of carbon byproducts in its proliferation. So if “a” (the burning of carbon fuel) causes “b” (greenhouse gases) and “b” causes “c” (global warming/climate destruction) then we have to stop “a.”
But corporations don’t want to bear the cost of updating their modus operandi and legislators don’t want to lose their donors. So nothing changes, we continue the bad behavior that got us where we are, and things just get worse. And, sooner than later, that is going to be a very, very bad thing.
Before we reach the point of no return, someone needs to be the adult in the room. And I think it should be Phil Scott. Instead of ignoring the huge economic benefits of a carbon tax, he could distance himself from the stale and senseless rhetoric against it. Instead of ignoring the overwhelming public support and disrespecting the time, effort and good faith of the Climate Action Commission, he could step up and take Vermont in a direction that will benefit the economy and the citizens of this beautiful state and lead the way for other states to follow. It could be a win-win. Does he have the courage to come to the table?
