A big threat

Those of us who follow U.S. politics closely are saddened that the dominant Trumpist wing of the Republican Party is using the false claim that President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory was fraudulent to stir up its base, an untruth so blatant and dangerous to our democratic process that it has been dubbed “The Big Lie.”

Meanwhile, almost unnoticed, many in the GOP have also bought into what I would call “The Even Bigger Lie,” a falsehood that endangers the entire world. For many years, they have been blocking legislation to curb greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Even if they accept the science, they claim that we can afford to delay climate action.

They are wrong. National defense experts uniformly place global warming at or near the top of the list of the most serious threats to our security.

They are also wrong when they claim that climate action will hurt the economy. Nonpartisan analysis of the revenueneutral Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 2307) shows that putting a fee on greenhouse gases and returning the proceeds as a regular dividend to every American household will facilitate a transition to green energy while creating jobs and prosperity. Furthermore, that bill is consistent with bedrock Republican principles by emphasizing market forces over regulation to achieve its goals.

I urge Pittsburgh Post-Gazette readers to learn more about the bill at energyinnovationact.org and to contact their representatives in Congress to encourage them to vote for a greener, more prosperous future.

ALFRED B. BORTZ Wilkinsburg