Slowing down climate change

News articles in the April 6 edition (“Managing the Mississippi” and “Drinking only what’s carried home”) highlight how climate change contributes to conditions that cause loss of life and property, human suffering and economic costs from coping with a changing environment.

Regions in the South and Midwest have been battered by a string of tornadoes this spring, which have killed more than 60 people. While the role of climate change in tornadoes may not be fully understood, scientists report that the tornado season appears to be lengthening and, in the future, tornadoes are more likely to occur in more populated areas.

Drought conditions last year caused the water level in the Mississippi River to drop, which resulted in a slowdown in shipping traffic that affected supply chains and cost the national economy $20 billion.

Another story reports on the misery suffered by residents in India’s coastal areas where rising sea levels have made the ground water too salty to drink or use for bathing. It is good news that India, the world’s third highest emitter of carbon dioxide, is working to transition to clean energy. However, this will take time. Meanwhile, the country is already bracing for another year of extreme heat waves.

While fossil fuel companies keep putting harmful emissions into the planet’s atmosphere, people around the world will continue to suffer the effects of air pollution, extreme weather events, lack of clean water and supply shortages caused by climate change. We urgently need policy solutions to reduce carbon pollution and accelerate the transition to a clean energy future that benefits people across the U.S. and the globe.

An important tool in the fight against climate change is a policy that puts a price on carbon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has called carbon pricing the most powerful and efficient strategy to reduce emissions. A carbon fee, combined with a dividend to American households, is a way to make corporate polluters pay for the damage they cause to the environment and give people a cushion against higher energy costs.

Concerned Americans should urge their representatives to support a price on carbon.