Happy Earth Day!
Hug a tree.
Plant a native species in your yard.
Pick up some trash.
Share the EcoRight Speaks with a friend or family member. Read up about the benefits of a revenue-neutral, border-adjustable carbon tax. However you mark this day, keep it green!
💙🌎💚
This week’s must read(s): In honor of Earth Day, two of our own were published. Up first, Mary Anna Mancuso, in Real Clear Energy with The Price is Right: Solving the Climate Crisis with a Carbon Tax. “I could spend all day offering reasons why bipartisan agreement on climate change is elusive. But the bottom line is—regardless of the reason—both sides of the aisle should put their differences aside, overcome their fear of the t-word, and get firmly behind a carbon tax,” she writes. “The carbon tax is our fastest, best chance at solving climate change. While the idea of another tax may have some Republicans rolling their eyes, the truth is, done right, a carbon tax could be structured to reduce payroll taxes, putting money back in the pocket of all Americans.”
Bob Inglis was also published today in the Delaware State News with Whatever your politics, have an open mind about carbon tax. “One of the best ways to think globally and act locally is to support a border-adjustable, revenue-neutral carbon tax as the means to combating climate change — and to share your support with lawmakers at all levels of government,” Bob writes. “This is truly the only solution at the scale of the problem posed by climate change.”
EcoRight Speaks, season 4, episode 11: Claudia McMurray
This week’s guest is near and dear to my heart.
Claudia McMurray has spent a distinguished career as a lawyer, policymaker and senior diplomat. She currently serves as the President and CEO of Mainstream Green Solutions, LLC, providing strategic advice on sustainability, environmental, energy and natural resource conservation issues. As a consultant and in private law practice her clients have included corporations, trade associations, nonprofits, venture capital firms, and contractors to US government departments and agencies, as well as HRH The Prince of Wales’ International Sustainability Unit. In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed Claudia as Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Environment and Science, representing the US government at the minister level on a broad portfolio of issues.
She also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment AND as Associate Deputy Administrator of the EPA. She also has extensive experience in the United States Senate, which is where I first met her, serving as Counsel to the Committee on Environment and Public Works, as well as to Senators John Warner and Fred Thompson.
She reflects on the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and the international climate negotiation process.
Enjoy the episode!
Coming up next week, clean energy and energy security expert Thomas Hochman, who is going to talk about reliance on fossil fuels and geopolitics. Be sure to tune in!
BRT issues energy platform: Speaking of energy security, the Business Roundtable this week issued a multi-staged set of recommendations for near term energy production and long-term climate policies strikes a sensible and responsible balance, including calling for a “price on carbon* that provides a clear long-term signal and incentivizes the development and deployment of technologies to lower emissions, and lead on international efforts to align potential cross-border carbon measures.”
That’s great Earth Day news.
A page from Bob’s travel diary: visiting the Mighty Ohio River with Rep. Trey Hollingsworth
At a recent event in Indiana, Rep. Trey Hollingsworth joined us to see firsthand the adaptation opportunity in that lies in the climate inundation dangers on the Ohio River. Unfortunately, climate change is causing larger rainfall events, increasing the chances of flooding on rivers like the mighty Ohio.
At republicEn.org, we’re focused on policies that would reduce that risk by reducing the quantity of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere in the years to come.
Meanwhile, some flooding is inevitable, and communities are adapting to the realities. The creative folks at the River Heritage Conservancy see an opportunity to create a river-level-flexible park, turning the brownfield of former industrial sites into lush green recreational spaces and wildlife habitat. The park would be adjacent to the falls of the Ohio and would be available to approximately 1.2 million people within a twenty-minute drive. The signature feature would be a pedestrian bridge that span the likeliest inundation areas, thereby allowing park goers to enjoy the Ohio River regardless of flood stage.
To read more about this field trip we co-hosted with Students for Carbon Dividends and the River Heritage Conservancy, head to our blog.
Have an idea for a field trip in your region? Let us know!
Where to find us next week:
Bob will be speaking at the Florida College Republicans State Convention on April 23rd and on April 27th, you can find him in Clinton, SC speaking to a public policy class at Presbyterian College. Have an event that you want a member of our team to speak at? Reach out!
That’s it for me. Have a great weekend. 💙🌎💚