Put a Price on Carbon

This letter was available for signing at the CAAV booth at the International Festival in Harrisonburg on September 28, 2013.

Dear Senators Warner and Kaine:

We at Climate Alliance of the Valley have watched your recent YouTube video titled – Bill to Expand Offshore Energy Leases- and are responding to your invitation for citizen input.  Although this would not take effect until 2020, we feel it is misdirected in light of the science explaining the chemistry and physics of climate disruption.

This plan may have been justified when the former Senators Warner and Webb first introduced this but we are better informed now.  We know now that to help protect future Virginians it is imperative that we leave all fossil fuels deep in the earth and not put them in the atmosphere to cause excessive heating of our beautiful blue-green ball, with the only  known existence of life as we know it.

If you have read the science, and we feel both of you at least understand what is happening, there is no other choice than trying to get off of our fossil fuel addiction. You have both sponsored and supported some very important energy legislation. It is really difficult for the alcoholic not to take that next drink.  It is time now to take the next step. Put a Price on Carbon.

It is easy to understand where you are coming from politically in this video and we would like to see you re-elected unless someone else is more willing to step up and support legislation to preserve life as we know it.

If you have read the science and know the facts, how can you do other than step forward and put some kind of price on carbon.  What will your children or grandchildren say in 20-30 yrs if you don’t do what you can now?

We are supporting some form of Fee and Dividend (S-332, Saunders-Boxer Bill or several house bills etc). Citizens Climate Lobby has done a lot of work on this.  We feel it is the only kind of bill that has a chance of passing and will do the job of reducing our carbon usage.  We know all the arguments against this pushed by the fossil fuel industry and we know what is going to happen if we don’t soon get started.  Therefore, we are asking you both to become leaders in trying to stop us from destroying ourselves.