Carbon Dividend Act would reduce emissions

I respond to the Associated Press article “Democrats seek Green New Deal to address climate change” on Thursday’s Dispatch. com. Serious legislation to address climate change will have to be carefully thought out, understandable, paid for, effective and fair. To be successful, it must have bipartisan support. It’s unclear whether the Green New Deal meets these criteria.

Promising legislation has just been introduced in the U.S. House: the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. It would impose a fee on fossil fuels at the mine or wellhead, which would increase annually. The money collected would be distributed in equal shares every month to the American people to spend as they see fit. In the first year, the carbon dividend will be about $16-24 per month, per adult. As the carbon fee rises annually, the monthly carbon dividend will also increase.

The government will not keep the money.

Projections are that emissions will decrease by 40 percent in the next 12 years, targeting a drop of 90 percent by 2050. Americans will be healthier because of cleaner air, and the climate will be stabilizing. The bill has the potential for bipartisan support because it is market-based and not regulatory.

The EICDA (energyinnovationact.org) and the Green New Deal are both courageous initiatives; passage of the EICDA appears to be the best first start.

E. Marianne Gabel, Delaware

Pursue affordable housing, review zoning codes

I respond to the Tuesday Dispatch.com article “Lack of affordable housing is a suburban problem, too.” Single-use zoning adversely affects affordable housing options throughout our city and suburbs. The majority of current land-use zoning does not include mixed use or allow for the building of “missing middle” housing options throughout central Ohio.

Experts say permission to build two- to four-family homes within currently zoned single-family areas would greatly increase housing options and reduce the cost of housing without adversely affecting the surrounding community.

As described in the book “The Color of Law” by Richard Rothstein, singlefamily zoning was devised as a legal way to continue to segregate our country mostly by race, but now by income too.

Let’s review our zoning codes like Minneapolis has done to better reflect the desired goals of sustainable diverse and growing communities that more people of all incomes can afford to enjoy.

Rachael Dorothy, Worthington

Flurry of potholes is approaching a crisis

I received a panicked phone call from my wife who had just hit a pothole exiting from I-70 westbound to I-71 southbound. Anyone who remembers last year’s pothole season knows that I-71 South can become dangerous. We called a towing service and they were so backed up it was expecting to take hours to assist.

After she received no assistance from passing State Highway Patrol cars, she drove on the rim and exited at Greenlawn Avenue. She turned into a parking lot where there were five other cars all with blown tires from the potholes.

Other drivers said they counted 12 cars stopping in the same lot due to blown tires. It was an expensive day for many.

There should be some type of warning, orange cones or something to indicate the pothole danger. I know temperatures have varied and that contributes to the problem, but what’s with this stretch of road? Someone will get seriously hurt. Some type of emergency response is needed.

Thanks to the two men who helped us. Unfortunately for them they had to tow their car away. My advice: Get a spare tire if you don’t have one. Stephen Torsell, Grove City

Trump comment gives advantage to Russians

In an interview with media anchors Tuesday, President Trump said that when he “say(s) something that you might think is a gaffe, it’s on purpose; it’s not a gaffe.” He made a gaffe the other day when he said the United States would use Iraq as an observation base against Iran. Such a policy is a violation of the Status of Forces Agreement the U.S. has with Iraq, which limits the U.S. presence to combating ISIS in the Iraqi region.

Because of the SOFA violation, Iraq wants U.S. troops out of the country. A departure of U.S. forces opens Shia Iraq to Russian involvement, which gives Russia regional control from Syria to Iran.

So why did Trump purposely make a remark that destroys the Iraq SOFA and gives regional supremacy to the Russians?

John G. Dirina, Columbus

Increasing taxes on rich won’t solve any problems

Columnist John Crisp’s wishful thinking is a glittering example of the dreams of those for whom the government cannot possibly do enough (“US should get used to idea of raising taxes on rich,” Tuesday op-ed). For him, the rich are there to be milked out of everything that can be taken. Unfortunately this line of thinking, which has in large part helped us into the financial hole we find ourselves in, is finding ever more favor among many who should know better.

Taxing the rich at any higher level, including 100 percent, would not solve any problem. Unbridled spending, not undertaxation, lies at the heart of our nation’s huge and rapidly growing debt. In the past, tax rate reduction has led to increased federal revenue. However, the increase in revenue could not match the increase in spending.

Debt, properly used, can be a wonderful tool. However, our politicians at all levels from township up to federal level have repeatedly proved themselves incapable of the discipline necessary to repay the debts incurred. Thus we borrow from our children’s future in rough times but fail to pay the bill when it comes due. Darryl Hiestand, Lancaster

Wheeler is troubling choice to lead EPA

Andrew Wheeler is clearly a terrible candidate to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He is a former coal lobbyist who has used his current position at the EPA to push rollbacks in environmental protection and reduce the importance of factoring in human health impacts of proposed environmental policies. In a recent Senate committee hearing, he even admitted to not reading a number of recent climate impact

reports that would have a serious impact on his agency and its work.

It is incredibly irresponsible to appoint someone who “would not call (climate change) the greatest crisis” to a leadership position at the agency tasked with protecting our environment and health. In fact, a recently released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that we have limited time — barely over a decade — to reduce emissions before we reach catastrophic climatic conditions.

Wheeler is a biased, dangerous candidate to head the EPA at such a critical time in history. As a student intern working with Defend Our Future, I find it critical that we call our senators and demand that the EPA is run by someone with our best interest at heart.

Aliza Baden, Columbus

Both parties must do right thing for nation

President Trump had a Republican majority Congress and Senate for two years. He had what he wanted then from the Democrats. Why didn’t he do the wall then?

Granted, something needs to be done to deal with immigration in the United States. But Trump’s insistence of getting funding from Congress for a wall or he’ll 1) shut the government down, or 2) declare a nonemergency “national emergency” is the thought of a child who, when he doesn’t get his way, takes his ball and goes home. We don’t need a wall. We need responsible action by Congress.

Trump needs to listen to his intelligence experts. Congressional leaders need to recognize who is in the White House, ignore the distraction and do what is right for the country, not their party.

Richard Fotoples, Hilliard