The Downey Patriot

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Letter to the Editor: We need to stop wildfires

Dear Editor:

It is true. To avoid more wildfires we need Carbon Fee and Dividend now.

In other words, we need to put a rising price on fossil fuels to have a climate that is livable.
As planet Earth warms up more and more on a daily basis because of human activity, we need to curb burning of fossil fuels so we can have a livable planet.

People have heard about recycling or wind and solar power. 

But for some reason many people are not convinced that using less gasoline by driving electric or hydrogen vehicles, or using solar panels and recycling are necessary to help the planet.

The data is in. Human excesses are causing climate change or global warming. So what to do?Well, the first step is to pass Carbon Fee and Dividend.

In other words, use the market place to reduce carbon pollution by putting a price on coal, oil and gas at the source and return the money collected to each U.S. household through a monthly dividend check.

No one wants to be told what to do, but the law can give choices: if one buys products made with carbon fossil fuels, then the consumer will have to pay a little more.

Studies have shown that with Carbon Fee and Dividend, carbon fossil fuel pollution will be reduced by 30 per cent within the next 10 years; it will create 2.5 million jobs and give us a cleaner environment in which to live. It may protect us from ever more ferocious wildfires.
The Earth is not Democrat or Republican. It is all of us.


Peggy Payton wrote to a local newspaper (LATimes: 10/18/17) that
“It is reasonable to expect our leaders to take action before disasters strike by addressing their chief accelerator, human-induced global warming. 

A gradually escalating price on carbon, specifically a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend, would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases entering our atmosphere while encouraging the use of energy sources other than fossil fuels. It would be a powerful move away from disaster.”

So let’s all have Carbon Fee and Dividend as a first step to stop global warming before it is too late. 

Guido Rivero
Downey