LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Climate change must be addressed

12/15/2013

Kudos on your excellent editorial on the plague of algae (“Sliming Lake Erie,” Nov. 25). You rightly argue that the measures politicians have proposed are useful to deal with the problem, but will have “limited effect without a meaningful effort to address, rather than deny, the disastrous effects of global climate change.”

I was raised in Cleveland and attended college there, and have family still living in Ohio, I retain a fondness for Lake Erie, though I am concerned about the negative effects climate change is having on the lake and the region.

The best method for addressing climate change is a revenue-neutral carbon tax paid by companies that mine, drill, or import fossil fuels, based on the amount of emissions their fuels produce. The tax will make prices rise, but consumers could be protected by a rebate of the tax to all households.

Higher prices will encourage consumers to limit use of fossil fuels and switch to cleaner fuels. They will prompt private investors to switch investments from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources that do not pollute.

It is politically difficult for lawmakers to suggest a carbon tax, but that is the most effective, efficient, and equitable solution to climate change.

JUDY WEISS

Brookline, Mass.