Let’s Reduce Carbon Footprint

I was very pleased to see the photo in the November 8, 2023 issue of the Divest Fossil Fuel folks demonstrating at Chase Bank. We simply can no longer afford to wait to develop renewable energy to replace most of our uses of fossil fuels. Mankind-induced global climate change is already causing more frequent and intense worldwide catastrophic weather disasters with only a 1-degree Celsius temperature rise. Scientists have warned us of the irreversible consequences of a 1.5-degree global temperature rise that will be reached in approximately 10 years at the current rate of fossil fuel consumption.

There are things we have the power to do to help accelerate critical government action. A positive and effective way to ensure that we leave most of the known fossil fuels in the ground is to demand that our banks and financial institutions stop funding more oil and gas production. Thanks Divest Fossil Fuel folks! We taxpayers must stop subsidizing and supporting the oil industry. Funding these corporations is rapidly destroying our own climate at our expense, how absolutely crazy is that?

Another effective method to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels is to have the government pass the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (CA-50). This would levy a carbon fee on fossil fuel emissions, incentivizing the transition to carbon-free production and supply chains through an escalating price of carbon. The fees collected would be returned to us in a quarterly or yearly dividend. Twenty seven other countries have implemented some form of carbon pricing. This plan would greatly help meet the U.S. mandated goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. We have the existing technology to save ourselves, all we need is to start paying the true price of fossil fuels which will quickly encourage the implementation of the technology.

–David Siegel, Castro Valley