OPINION - Guest writer

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We can address climate change

Fortunately, the government shutdown is over for now, but hundreds of thousands of federal workers were deeply impacted, some reaching the end of their resources.

There is an angle to this shutdown besides the unfairness to federal workers that I've not seen mentioned. Hundreds of thousands of people with seemingly secure, good-paying jobs are so soon stranded, unable to pay mortgages, buy medicine, buy gas and even food. This shutdown revealed just how close to the edge most of us are living.

Could this be a wake-up call? This edge we are living on is not only influenced by economic and political factors. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gives us 12 years to act before irreversible tipping points are reached, but scientists tend to be cautious in modeling. Measurements taken after the report was published have indicated higher temperatures, more melting of ice sheets and higher sea level rise than predicted. Scientists also took the unusual extra step of recommending policy to address the crisis: a Carbon Fee and Dividend.

Many of us are already experiencing the effects of climate change. Some of the migrants seeking asylum are abandoning farms lost to drought, thousands in the U.S. have lost homes to fires in the west, others to floods from hurricanes made more violent by climate change. Coasts and islands are losing land to rising seas. Climate change is happening.

And we are not prepared, even for a month-long government shutdown. Will we turn our heads away or take action to remedy this clear and present threat to our civilization, to our lives, to our future? We can support the Revenue-Neutral Carbon Fee and Dividend, as called for in the IPCC report, by the Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), and by most economists.

There is now a bipartisan bill in Congress called The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR763, (energyinnovationact.org) that has been re-introduced in the House, with a Senate bill expected later this year, which would return all the fees collected equally to citizens of the U.S. A carbon fee would incentivize businesses to switch to renewable energies and reduce carbon emissions 40 percent over the next 12 years, and a dividend and border tariff adjustment would protect the economy, good news to people living paycheck-to-paycheck like so many impacted by the government shutdown. Two-thirds of recipients would actually come out ahead or break even, even after paying higher fuel prices.

Electric utilities will be central to the transition to renewable energies. There are three types of utilities in our state: 17 electric co-ops (such as Ozarks Electric), 15 municipal electric utilities (Jonesboro, Clarksville, etc.) and four investor-owned utilities (such as Entergy and SWEPCO). CCL has organized a panel with a representative from each type of utility to speak to us about how transition to renewables can be accomplished.

The industry representatives--Mark Cayce from Ouachita Electric, John Lester from Clarksville Light and Water, and John Bethel from Entergy--are already experienced in the creation of large solar facilities. They will be informing us about what is already being done to expand solar energy, how long a full transition could take, and what it would entail. Frank Kelly, owner of Bearskin Solar Center, will present on distributed energy, and Rev. Malik Saafir, founder of the Janus Institute for Justice, will talk about social justice and racial equity, i.e., how an expansion of solar in Arkansas can economically benefit the communities being served.

Some communities suffer health impacts from being in close proximity to polluting industries. These same communities may also be the most impacted by environmental disasters made worse by climate change. Any transition to clean energy must take into account the circumstances of low-income communities. Some utilities already provide free and low-priced energy-efficient upgrades to reduce electricity costs.

This panel, "Power's Push for Clean Energy--An Industry and Community Panel," will be held from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at The Center at Trinity, 1205 South Albert Pike, Fort Smith. It will be the keynote panel of the CCL Tornadoes Regional Conference held from Feb. 22- 24. The registration page can be found at Eventbrite.com under "2019 Citizens' Climate Lobby Tornadoes Conference."

Breakout sessions include a panel on environmental justice in the Delta, youth addressing climate change, and workshops on understanding conservative and liberal viewpoints. Mark Reynolds, CCL executive director, will lead a discussion on next steps in getting the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act through Congress.

All are welcome. Last day to register is Feb. 14.

We have a very short window to mitigate climate change. Citizens' Climate Lobby offers this conference and this panel to help inform us on how to work, plan and prepare for the future together.

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Shelley Buonaiuto of Fayetteville is a member of Citizens' Climate Lobby.

Editorial on 02/02/2019

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