Letters to the Editor

Letter: Climate change is real

Earth Day 2019 was April 22, and much has happened since one year ago. Climate change-related weather brought fires and flooding to the Lower 48. In Alaska, a record-smashing warm spring has snowmachiners falling through river ice. In Washington, a new Congress is willing to speak the truth: Because we put off doing anything about greenhouse gas emissions for far too long, we now need action on a huge scale. On Feb. 7, House and Senate members introduced House Resolution 109 and Senate Resolution 59, calling for a new industrial policy to move the U.S. economy off fossil fuels as fast as possible.

Congress now must move beyond this outline to pass actual, detailed legislation, such as The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763). It calls for a revenue-neutral carbon tax, with the fees collected on emissions to be distributed to Americans to spend any way they choose, just like the PFD here. This groundbreaking approach will reduce emissions by at least 40% in the first 12 years. It will improve health and save lives. The carbon dividend puts money directly into people’s pockets every month, helping low- and middle-income Americans. This will create millions of new jobs, thanks to economic growth in communities across America.

Republicans and Democrats are both on board, sponsoring this bill together. The majority of Americans support Congress’s taking action on climate change, including more than half of Republicans. Solving climate change is too urgent to get caught up in partisan politics.

Everyone who is paying attention in Alaska sees that climate change is real, and it’s moving real fast. It’s time to act. Learn more about the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, and then tell our members of Congress to support it.

— Tim Hinterberger

Anchorage

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Tim Hinterberger

Dr. Tim Hinterberger is a professor in the School of Medical Education at University of Alaska Anchorage, with teaching responsibilities in anatomy and neuroscience and a research program in molecular embryology. He also serves on the board of the Alaska Public Health Association.

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