Support a carbon tax to support Chesapeake bay

Thank you, Del. Dana Stein, for providing an overview of some of the recent global extreme weather events made possible by climate change. Thank you also for sponsoring climate adaptation legislation and advocating for protection of the Chesapeake Bay (“As weather worsens, we must double down on Chesapeake Bay protection,” Aug. 14).

Unspoken in Delegate Stein’s commentary is how to protect our beautiful bay from the ravages of climate change. We cannot keep tossing money to try to undo what we have done with our unsustainable actions, much of it rooted in our cheap fossil fuel use. Will he and others concerned about our Chesapeake Bay advocate for carbon pricing to get to the root of the issues we have in the bay?

We need well thought out solutions, such as a 100 percent revenue-neutral, bordercorrected carbon fee and dividend to address this global problem. Will he be part of the political will needed to support such legislation by speaking up as an elected official on the need for bipartisan national climate legislation? So many talk about how much they love the Chesapeake Bay, but few have provided long-term solutions to the elephant in the room that will undo any protections we have for her — climate change.

This summer when the world seems to be burning, flooding or dying of thirst, depending upon where you are located, it’s time to rethink how we have done things in the past and try something new: bipartisan climate legislation such as carbon fee and dividend.