Opinion
Letter: National Farm Bureau ‘wrong-headed’ on cap and trade
Originally published in the January 22, 2010, print edition.
The Land — To the Editor:
The national Farm Bureau is wrong-headed regarding their stance on cap and trade. They are leading their membership to think that doing nothing about transitioning to a new energy economy is smart. It is not. Please consider four sober facts.
Fossil fuel is finite and our entire energy system is based on a vanishing resource. If we fail to plan for an energy system transition and live day to day, how can that be better than a policy plan to transition? We could just pass a fuel tax, or carbon tax, but only market forces focused through cap and trade can find the least-cost formula.
National security is threatened with over 70 percent of our energy resources being imported. More wars will be fought over energy unless we act to become energy secure.
Building an economy around home-grown energy provides real and sustainable economic growth, not like a service economy, derivatives and the dot-com bubble. Renewable energy systems encourage economic development in rural communities, helping to stem the on-going rural population decline.
Climate change cannot reasonably be denied. The bulk of the world’s scientists support the reality of climate change. Every gallon of gas burned in a car yields 19.3 pounds of carbon dioxide. Every gallon of this gas was sequestered below ground until we tapped it around a hundred years ago. How could that much weight and volume not affect our atmosphere?
Taking action to curb carbon emissions and accelerate our transition to a new energy economy will cost a lot of money, but it will cost much more money and pain to wait. Please, national Farm Bureau, think!
John W. Baumgartner
Olivia
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