Climate change has been in the headlines the past few weeks with a United Nations panel issuing new warnings and the U.S. government outlining the effects a warming climate will have on different parts of the country. Then the U.N. stated that many countries are not meeting the goals they set in the Paris Climate Accord in 2015.
However, there is some very good news on combating climate change that was not widely reported. A bipartisan bill (yes, Republicans and Democrats working together!) was introduced in the House on Nov. 27 called the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. The bipartisan proposal would place a fee on fossil fuels like coal and oil and redistribute the proceeds equally to all U.S. households. The majority of households would benefit and the market forces would help accelerate a clean-energy transition. This policy would be good for our economy and our environment. The Citizens Climate Lobby, with 484 active chapters and over 100,000 members, played a major role in getting this bill written and is now busy working with members of Congress to get it passed.
This is a very big step in replacing the dire warnings we have seen in the headlines with good news about how working across the aisle can solve issues like climate change.
Steven Jorissen, St. Paul
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Clearly, there is a full-court press going on over climate change. There is no shortage of dire warnings published in the Star Tribune and elsewhere. The overriding warning is that we must move away from all fossil fuel consumption if we are to "survive." To the "scientists": Please tell us what the alternative raw products will be. How will we construct our "solar gardens" and our "wind farms"? Where will we get the electricity to power the vehicles presently on the road?
What will our buildings and homes be made of? That is just a start. Your breathless warnings are meaningless without concrete solutions.
Joe Polunc, Cologne
Agriculture
Farm bankruptcies are another reason to shop local for food
When I read about our local farmers going bankrupt, I was appalled. Big corporations like Cargill and Tyson are tearing down the rain forest to grow food and our local farmers can't even sell theirs? There is already too much food and we are destroying our planet to grow more. This is why we need to start seriously thinking about where our food comes from.
McDonald's and Whole Foods are two of their biggest customers, and they've turned a blind eye to their farming practices because it saves them a dollar. We cannot allow this. We need to demand that places like McDonald's and Whole Foods stop buying from these companies until they vow to be more conservative. This will level the playing field for our local farmers, too. We can't let the people we buy food from allow the further destruction of our planet, and we can't let them make our local farmers go bankrupt.
