Letter below was submitted to the Bernardsville News on 10-03-20. It was published on line on 10-14-20 and in the print edition on 10-29-20.
EDITOR:
Many believe the upcoming election is the most important of our lives. Those we choose will face enormous problems. But there is reason to believe that, if they lead and we follow, we can solve most of them.
- With good science, good behavior, and a little luck we will reduce the risks of Covid-19, and in one or two years life will return to near normal.
- If we use facts and common sense, the economy can grow again as it did in the eleven years that ended in 2019.
- If people of good will from both sides start talking less and listening more, we can start closing the political divide.
Global warming, and the associated problems of climate change, sea level rise, and ocean acidification are more difficult and will take much longer to solve. The main contributor to these is burning fossil fuels and adding carbon dioxide (CO2) to the air and oceans.
If we stopped doing this tomorrow, all these problems would still get worse. Like a super tanker that will coast forward if the engines are stopped, the climate system has momentum that will keep it moving in the present direction, even after the push in that direction is removed.
Our immediate challenge is to reduce the burning of fossil fuels, and the push this gives to the climate system. This will give us and our children more time to adapt to new conditions, learn how to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and start turning the climate super tanker around.
There are many proposals for how to do this. The best at this time, I believe, is a system of Carbon Fee and Dividend (CFD) that is advocated by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. I have written about CFD in this space many times.
HR 763 is a bill in the House of Representatives that will implement CFD. It is called the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. It has 82 co-sponsors, with four in NJ including our District 7 Congressman Tom Malinowski.
Many believe that we can and should implement a program to achieve “net zero” CO2 emissions by 2050: by conserving energy, and by transitioning to non-fossil energies, like solar, wind, and nuclear. I call this ReEnergize America. This program will give our children a chance to survive and thrive in the long term, and it will in the near term help solve the three problems identified above.
- Covid-19 experience shows that people with compromised respiratory systems, caused by air pollution, are more susceptible to infection and serious illness. Reducing fossil fuel burning will reduce air pollution and make us more resistant to Covid-19 and the next pathogen that comes along.
- ReEnergize America will stimulate new technologies and new jobs, as the Apollo space program did in the 60s and 70s.
- Racial conflict and the Vietnam War divided us in the 60s and 70s. Apollo generated national pride and brought us together. ReEnergize America will do this again.
All of us can participate in the program and take pride in what we will accomplish. I envision a time when an index of CO2 emissions will be watched as closely as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and monthly employment data.
In August we saw tragic fires on the West Coast, flooding from two hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, and 1.4 million NJ households without power from Tropical Storm Isaias. Climate change is not just a worry for our children; it endangers most of us now. And the magnitude and frequency of events like these will increase until we turn the climate super tanker around.
Nothing is more important in November than to elect candidates who will work to ReEnergize America and slow climate change. Tom Malinowski has shown that he understands the importance of the challenge and knows how to meet it.
Vote for Tom Malinowski.
Bill Allen 10-03-20