Carbon pricing energizes the economy

I really appreciate Ms. Wheaton’s well-researched, apolitical scientific article (Farmers must brace for severe heat, drought, Aug. 27).

Yes, it is difficult to digest such disheartening information. But yes, it is critical to have professionals dedicated not to coddling us with false hope and misinformation but to simply put the cold, er, hot facts on the table. Perhaps by knowing what the cards are, we will have a better chance at playing a smart hand.

Dr. James Hansen, former NASA climate scientist and a director at the Columbia University Earth Institute, was recently interviewed by Bob Mcdonald, with CBC’S beloved Quirks and Quarks. Hansen spoke about how carbon pricing with a dividend can comfortably spur our economies away from fossil fuels toward clean energy. The magic is in the signal it sends.

What signal? Who gets the signal? Well, businesses see that their operating costs are going to rise, so they make smart decisions like insulating their buildings and buying more efficient machinery.

Ordinary people also want to avoid higher costs, so they start economizing by looking for more efficient household appliances, for example.

Entrepreneurs see the opportunity to turn a profit and start inventing better products. Case in point: the Chinese government announced they would have the biggest carbon market in the world, and two years later we have millions and millions of solar panels installed, there and elsewhere.

It’s economics 101: the magical dance of supply and demand, where the sweet spot is adequate supply, adequate demand and adequate profits. Carbon pricing simply energizes that dance.

Add to that some bonuses. One, the government — wanting to keep the economy humming along — returns the money from carbon pricing to the citizens, and citizens spend it. The money goes round and round.

Biggest bonus of all? Over time, we cool the planet; Ms. Wheaton and colleagues put out encouraging reports on agriculture; we get to have a stable, livable world. I am all for that.

Carole Lavallee,

Chelmsford, Ont.