Climate of an American Mind

A sweeping majority of Americans — more than 75 percent — say the President and Congress should make climate change and developing clean energy a priority, according to a survey conducted by researchers at Yale University and George Mason University. 

The growing sentiment is that policy-makers in the United States have failed to meaningfully address the rapidly deepening crisis of climate change. 

The GAO offers our policy-makers a cleaner energy forecast. Exact a carbon tax of $25/metric ton of CO2 starting next year. Increase that carbon tax incrementally over time in order to lead to a steep decline of coal fired electricity. That future lands coal as 4 percent (down from the 48 percent it represents now) of the United States Energy Mix by 2035. 

Conventional political wisdom, though, says, "Oooo....carbon tax...that sounds expensive...nobody, nobody would like that...". But here's the kicker: you know that Yale University survey I mentioned? It finds over eighty percent of Americans support making an effort to reduce global warming, even if this has economic costs.

Maybe the increased cost of a carbon tax sounds more palatable than the $26 to $89-billion annual cost estimated to deal with rising seal levels by the year 2040.  

Majorities of Americans at this point also support funding more research into renewable energy sources (73%), providing tax rebates for people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels (73%), regulating carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant (66%), eliminating all subsidies for the fossil-fuel industry (59%), and expanding offshore drilling for oil and natural gas off the U.S. coast (58%).

So, Congress, Mr. President, I believe the message is pretty clear.