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It seems like environmentalists are given more and more to hyperbolic language and insistent moralizing. They seem to approach their issue with a zealotry bordering on religious fervor. Kristen Walser's recent guest opinion is no exception. This starts as a newsy opinion piece and morphs to a clumsy letter-to-the-editor style polemic, complete with a "call your senator" plea at the end.
She supplies us with an astounding number for the health costs of coal mining, a claimed $2 trillion annually. But according to Kaiser, the total expenditure for healthcare in the US was $2.6 trillion in 2010. Apparently she wants us to believe that 77% of all healthcare costs are attributable to coal mining. Like I said, given to hyperbole.
What she describes as a "common sense" solution to the human toll of using fossil fuels is to "place a price on carbon and combustion..." For some reason she's afraid to use the word, but this is what is known as a tax. Yes, the universal leftist problem solving strategy... tax it.
Then, send all $2 trillion to the American people. Ummm, yeah. So we need to ask: How likely is it that Congress will actually transfer this money directly to the American people? That's $6000 per person, per year, every year. But a better question is, how long will the oil and coal industries continue to produce their products in that scenario?
According to Pell, the size of the Coal Mining market was $39.15 billion in 2009. Yearly production of oil amounts to $260 billion. These industries already pay lots of taxes. For 2012, the three largest oil companies, Exxon ($31.05 billion), Chevron ($20 billion), and ConocoPhillips ($7.94 billion) paid a total of $58.99 billion in taxes. What will that do to the price you and I pay for energy? If you answered, "skyrocket," go to the head of the class. You and I will pay this tax.
This means that rather than "20-40 years" of transition time to alternative fuels, a $2 trillion coal tax will shortly destroy the energy industry, which will increase energy prices, plummet the already fragile economy into a tailspin, and throw millions of people out of work, out of their homes, and into the welfare system. Really great plan, Ms. Walser.
According to Pell, the size of the Coal Mining market was $39.15 billion in 2009. Yearly production of oil amounts to $260 billion. These industries already pay lots of taxes. For 2012, the three largest oil companies, Exxon ($31.05 billion), Chevron ($20 billion), and ConocoPhillips ($7.94 billion) paid a total of $58.99 billion in taxes. What will that do to the price you and I pay for energy? If you answered, "skyrocket," go to the head of the class. You and I will pay this tax.
This means that rather than "20-40 years" of transition time to alternative fuels, a $2 trillion coal tax will shortly destroy the energy industry, which will increase energy prices, plummet the already fragile economy into a tailspin, and throw millions of people out of work, out of their homes, and into the welfare system. Really great plan, Ms. Walser.
We can discern what the real agenda is. These extremist environmentalists hate big corporations, CEOs, and the wasteful American way of life. Their answer to every problem is more taxes and more government. They disdain capitalism, they have nothing but contempt for the rich, and they despise SUVs. They are convinced that they are the agents of change to bring about a utopian vision of worldwide peace and harmony, oneness with the land, and tofu in every pot. And they're always happy to bring government to bear on those who don't fit in to their happy plans.
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This week, Gallatin residents will have an opportunity to have their minds stretched by the encyclopedic knowledge of Dr. Wendy Ring. As we learned from Dr. Alan Lockwood, author of the Silent Epidemic, when he came to Bozeman last March, the health costs of coal mining and combustion are devastating and reach $2 trillion annually.
According to Dr. Ring, this is just a sliver of the health impacts we are seeing now from warmer temperatures of air and water, not to mention extreme weather events.
Dr. Ring recently spoke on the national conference call of the Citizens Climate Lobby. org. Believe me, there’s no need to spend your money on a terrifying summer blockbuster. This is it, all from a woman so dedicated to her cause, that she is riding her bike across country to tell us about it.
Luckily, this story could have a happy ending. Let’s do what Republican economists, scientists, four former EPA administrators under Republican presidents, even Exxon, have suggested.
Place a price on carbon when it comes out of the ground that reflects its true costs to health, insurance, clean up after storms and pollution, rebuilding coastal cities, drought relief, and firefighting costs.
Give the entire proceeds back to the American people, and the terrific engine of our market-based economy will do the heavy lifting. No need for subsidies or cap and trade, no loopholes or half measures, just a level, predictable playing field, oh, and the added bonus of a livable planet and a complete transition to alternative fuels in 20-40 years (Mark Jacobson).
Ask Sens. Tester and Baucus, and Rep. Daines to lead the charge for carbon fee and dividend in Congress now.
And come to 301 Reid Hall MSU at noon Aug. 15. Be prepared for a thriller.
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