Letters to the editor for Saturday, June 24, 2017

Is there a sustainable solution to climate change?

Regarding “Whose interests is Trump protecting in ditching Paris climate accord?” in the June 13 Nevada Appeal, Archimedes said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I can move the world.” We have the lever and fulcrum that can save the world. We just need to start using it.

The Paris Climate Agreement was never going to be enough, but there’s a much simpler, faster, more effective, realistic market solution with which works on the principal of self-interest — asking no one to give up anything except for polluting fossil fuel corporations. It makes them pay an annually escalating carbon pollution fee, all of which goes to taxpayers in equal monthly “carbon dividend” checks.

Solar and wind energy prices and energy storage prices keep dropping exponentially allowing people to make more and more money each year by using their “carbon dividend” money to buy cheaper clean energy. It could increase U.S. GDP $75-80 billion (citizensclimatelobby.org) and create more than 5 million jobs (Stanford University’s solutionsproject.org). It’s been successful in British Columbia for eight years, cutting emissions, taxes and energy bills while creating jobs (The Economist). It uses conservative economics so it can have bipartisan support.

Google “A Climate Solution Where All Sides Win” and “CLC Unlocking the Climate Puzzle,” which explains its global “domino” effect, which makes other nations cut their emissions as much as we do.

We really can save the world while making the vast majority of Americans financially better off. It’s genius.

Lynn Goldfarb

Lancaster, Pa.