The Battle Against Climate Change

 

It is surprising to me how much newspaper space, TV talk, and coverage by various news outlets occurs about the battle against climate change. Even those organizations that contribute to the problem of air pollution by emitting tons of carbon dioxide (C0₂) daily have joined the fray in publicizing their expected contributions for cleaner air quality. This, despite the data that show the problem is getting worse, not better. At the same time there is some hope based on concrete data from Canada that improvements are in the works.

One example of the problem of lots of talk but little action, is with the major oil producers who are now making more fuel than ever before by dint of the new fracking technology. These are the same folks who drill oil and gas wells for extraordinary profits, but are unable to prevent the release of methane into the air. Capping of old, unused wells is one example of a simple change that would yield big payoffs in cleaning our air. Joe Biden has begun efforts to correct this problem of uncapped oil wells and the consequent release of C0₂.

Energy giant Consumers Power seems to have spent a large share of their advertising budget on their plan to reduce the use of coal for creating electrical energy. When you read the fine print of their messages you will perhaps notice that many of the changes they talk about are still in the future.

With that backdrop of information, I just happened upon recent data collected on the quality of our air. Spoiler Alert: this data shows that our efforts have not yet borne fruit. If you were hoping that the air quality next year will be better than what we’ve seen in the recent past, be forewarned that you will be disappointed by this report.

 

Increased Air Pollution Measured by C0₂

 

In the year of my birth, 1943, C0₂ concentration in our atmosphere was 310 parts per million, [ppm] In the previous 81 years before 1943, the C0₂ concentration was 287 ppm, hence it had increased over that 81 year period by just 24 ppm.

During my lifetime (from 1943 to 2023) C0₂ has increased to 421 ppm, an increase of 111 ppm. This data shows that during my lifetime, C0₂ has increased more than four times as much as in the previous 81 years.  

C0₂ continues to increase as humans demand more and more energy at the lowest possible cost. In 2007 a new organization named Citizen Climate Lobby took center stage in the battle for cleaner air. The new organization developed the idea that polluters [those who generated and released (C0₂) into the air], should be taxed by the government in proportion to the amount of polluting material released. The money thus raised was to be sent to ordinary US citizens as a pay-back for the harm caused to those citizens. Citizens Climate Lobby took that idea to the US Congress and asked for help in making it become a reality. 

The US Congress decided to study the problem rather than fix it with this solution. The idea gained widespread support, just not in Congress. Supporters of the idea included the Canadian Government. They passed the legislation needed and began collecting taxes and paying their citizens a dividend from the funds collected. That was in 2008, first implemented in the Province of British Columbia, and then gradually implemented in other Provinces. The measure has been popular throughout Canada.

“Putting a price on pollution is the lowest-cost way to reduce pollution causing climate change, while putting more money in the pockets of Canadians. It is a cornerstone of our climate plan, accounting for about one third of all our emission reductions by 2030. Without Canada’s revenue-neutral carbon pricing system, the cost to Canadians and the Canadian economy to achieve our emissions reduction goals by other means would be far greater.”

The time to implement this idea in the US is now. I thought you ought to know.

 

Bill Tudor