True leadership

Regarding “True leaders worry about their legacies and climate change” (Houston Chronicle.com, Dec. 7): Business columnist Chris Tomlinson’s column speaks volumes about our situation, more important, our children and grandchildren’s situation, and calls for leadership in addressing the fact-based effects of a warming planet.

Some political leadership is stepping forward: two weeks ago, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to place a fee on carbon gases and allocate all revenue to households in the form of a monthly dividend.

The policy outlined in their bill, known as the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 7173), provides that the majority of families, particularly low- and middle-income, will receive more money from the “carbon dividend” than they would pay in increased costs associated with the fee.

The bill is sponsored by U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch, D-Fla.; Francis Rooney, R-Fla.; John Delaney, D-Md.; Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Charlie Crist, DFla.; Dave Trott, R-Minn., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. If more bipartisan leaders like these three Republicans and four Democrats step up to support this bill in the new Congress, we will take a huge first step in confronting the risks associated with climate change. Robert L. Jones, Conroe