6, December 2015 Climate Change
NASA’s former top climate scientist, James
Hansen, was the first scientist who warned about the inherent dangers of
climate change when he appeared before Congress in 1988. At the time he was
mocked as an alarmist and ridiculed by the climate deniers.
Speaking at the Climate Conference in Paris,
Hansen’s views are finally getting some traction. He stated that the current
price of fossil fuels was dishonest. It should include its cost to society. He
recommended a rising fee be added to the price of fossil fuels. This would spur
investment of alternative clean energy technologies and create a disincentive
to fossil fuel polluters. The fuel tax would then be refunded to the general
public using the Alaska model. People who limit their use of fossil-fuels would
be rewarded with a higher refund of the carbon tax. Rich people who can afford
higher fuel prices, the jet setters and gas guzzlers, will pay more. A carbon tax would also favor renewables and energy
efficiency. It would be revenue neutral and would therefore have negligible
impact on the size of government. Hansen’s proposal has support from leading
conservatives.
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