Fairer and healthier

Thank you for publishing Katie Zakrzewski’s fine letter, “For healthier climate.” She provides convincing reasons why securing a healthy climate and supporting clean energy should be a policy centerpoint for conservative Arkansans and the Republican Party as a whole.

I’m expanding her focus: Cleaning up our air and reducing atmospheric carbon and methane should be a unifying, active priority for Arkansans and all Americans. Certainly we all want the positive health benefits, as well as the pride of taking care of our families and our communities.

There is no doubt that our world, wrapped in a blanket of polluting gases, is getting dangerously warmer. This July, humanity lived through the hottest month in 142 years of NOAA record-keeping. This is a disturbing upward trend; warmer temperatures amplify drought and flooding, just like the phenomena that damaged farmland, infrastructure, businesses and homes in southeast Arkansas this spring and inundated Arkansas River communities in 2019.

Clearly, it’s best if Congress could pass effective bipartisan climate legislation. Thankfully, President Biden and Democrats are leading the way via budget reconciliation, focusing on a suite of policies to reduce U.S. emissions 50% by 2030. Ms. Zakrzewski identified one such effective policy: carbon pricing, which is appealing to conservatives as well.

What I like best about carbon pricing/corporate polluter fees is the accompanying carbon cash-back payments. These monthly rebates would provide a boost to low- and middle-income Americans during the clean energy transition, making it fairer, as we move toward a healthier climate for all of us.

JAN SCHAPER

Russellville