National approach needed to battle climate change

Re: “Fire-breathing coal train must adapt as climate changes,” and “Don’t outlaw Colorado’s energy industry,” Aug. 12 commentaries

Energy and environment issues occupy more and more of the news and commentary, exemplified by these two well-written articles. Diane Carman notes that “climate change is the major culprit” driving reduced snowpack, increased wildfires, and more flooding. What can we do here in Colorado? We simply must adapt to these new forces of nature; modifying the power source of a tourist train provides a modest example of adaptation. Lou Schroeder enumerates the employment and tax benefits of oil and gas extraction in Colorado. He fears the pressure of recent lawsuits on the oil and gas industry: “driving away the oil and natural gas industry would be enormously self-destructive.” He seems to favor business-as-usual.

What’s wrong with these points of view? Neither addresses the main driver of climate change: the exhalation of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere as we keep ourselves warm and drive to our destinations. Adaptation and business-as-usual are not solutions, they are just arguments for standing by as things get worse. We must look beyond the state of Colorado and seek a national approach, otherwise we are limited to modest adaptations and a fear of energy companies departing the state.

A national price on carbon-based fuels will provide uniformity of response — a fee on hydrocarbon extraction and a dividend distributed to all households, as proposed by the Climate Leadership Council and Citizens Climate Lobby, will provide an equitable base for decarbonizing our energy supply. We can do much more than make occasional adaptations and defend existing infrastructure. Climate change calls for human change and political will. Phil Nelson, Golden