The current pandemic has been an incredible wake-up call for humanity worldwide. Here in Western North Carolina, social distancing requirements have crippled the economy. As we head into summer, COVID-19 continues to dominate local and international news. In fact, we’ve been paying so much attention to every nuance of COVID-19 that we’ve kind of lost touch with other matters.
Unfortunately, this pandemic is not our only hurdle. A much larger threat that will dwarf COVID-19 is the climate crisis that in the short term is almost unresponsive to human changes. For our region, climate impacts may destroy crops, lead to forest fires similar to what we’ve seen in California or Australia and so on. One hundred fifty years of fossil fuel combustion that is mostly absorbed in oceans has no quick remedy and unchecked will lead to an uninhabitable world.
We need to act now to set better targets before society returns to business as usual. With such a big problem, what can be done locally? With fuel prices so low, what better time to support House Bill 763, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which would tax carbon nationwide and give the proceeds back to the public in a monthly check? Your phone call makes a difference!
If implemented, the effect would be to disincentivize the consumption of carbon so that all people would choose to use less of it and, instead, incentivize goods and services powered by other sources of energy that help to transition our society to a lower carbon future. Locally, you can join our local Citizens Climate Lobby chapter (very informal, friendly group) and/or call your congressional representative to support House Bill 763.
— Vaidila Satvika
Asheville
Sorry Ms. Satvika, the only issues that matter now are:
-complaints about covid-lock-ins reopening too soon, except rioting and looting is tolerated (in fact, most of your sunrise movement kids are out LARPing being down with the Antifa/BLM for summer camp and aren’t available for climate change extracurriculars)
-BLM, BLM, BLM…’nuff said
-scary statues and flags that cause hurt feelings or insecurities
Besides, the “scientific consensus” said global cooling, global warming, or climate change was gonna kill us all in like 11 or 12 years or some such thing, so it ranks pretty low on the “woked” agenda!