TGIF! Cherry blossoms are peaking, the NCAA tournament is in full swing, and spring is here. As are my allergies. Is it December yet?
This week’s must read: Conservatives Should Own the Climate Issue (Newsweek) From Drew Bond, President and CEO, Conservative Coalition for Climate Solutions comes this op-ed, in which he writes—
“The best climate policy empowers people to choose, companies to innovate, and markets to move based on supply and demand rather than government fiat. The best climate policy respects consumer choice, competition, private property rights, and the rule of law. The best climate policy lowers barriers to adopting natural, practical solutions that are good for the climate, and especially for our food, water, and national security. The best climate policy recognizes the practical reality that every form of energy has tradeoffs and that there’s no single perfect solution. The best climate policy ensures that as we transition to a cleaner energy future, we must ensure that energy is not only cleaner, but also abundant, reliable, and affordable, while also strengthening our national security.”
Needless to say, if you’ve been around here for a while, you know what *our* opinion on the best climate policy is.
EcoRight Speaks, Season 8, Episode 4: Great Florida Shellfish Company owner Tom McCrudden
This week’s guest comes to us highly recommended from one of our favorite past guests. Tom McCrudden is the owner/operator of the Great Florida Shellfish Company, one of the longest operating shellfish hatchery in Florida. He has farmed/harvested full size clams and operated wholesale/wet storage facilities since 1995. The primary objective of his operation is to produce seed for industry year-round. Tom has specialized his expertise with producing and growing emerging species such as the Sunray Venus Clam with other species in the works. He shares his experience with water quality issues and how climate change impacts the shellfish industry. Click below to have a listen!
Coming up next week, author of the upcoming book Clean Economy Now: Stories From the Front Lines of an American Business Revolution, Bob Keefe, who has spent a lifetime at the intersection of business, the environment, policy and writing. He spent more than 20 years as a journalist, covering everything from business and technology to Congress and the White House. He currently is executive director of E2, a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders who advocate for policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment.
News of the week: Trump Fed contender: Bring on a carbon tax (E&E Daily)
Art Laffer, who once served as economic adviser to then-President Ronald Reagan, is under consideration to lead the Fed if Donald Trump wins re-election. And he had a strong opinion to share with his prospective new boss: “If you think there’s a carbon problem in the atmosphere, you put on a carbon tax and take the proceeds and reduce the income tax, dollar for dollar, and you don’t kill the economy,” he said to E&E News about the meeting.
Another pro-carbon tax advocate is also under consideration for the Fed job: Kevin Hassett, who served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under Trump.
From the article:
“In 2007, Hassett co-authored a paper to tout the benefits of using a carbon tax to reduce corporate and income taxes and to cut greenhouse gas emissions. He and his co-authors argued that would be less damaging economically than a cap-and-trade program.
‘A program of carbon-centered tax reform, by contrast, lacks most of the negative attributes of cap-and-trade, and could convey significant benefits unrelated to GHG reductions or avoidance of potential climate harms, making this a no-regrets policy,” they wrote. “A tax swap would create economy-wide incentives for energy efficiency and lower-carbon energy, and by raising the price of energy would also reduce energy use.’
And in the spirit of Throwback Friday (I know that’s not a thing, but bear with me), here is Laffer in a video produced for us.
Related… Pennsylvania Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick was the sole Republican to oppose an anti-carbon tax resolution vote on Thursday. In 2018, six GOP members voted against a similar (non-binding) measure.
Are you ready? 
Wow, it looks like many of our members will be in the totality of the eclipse—or close to it! Be sure to have your special glasses on hand and send us your pics! We will not be in the thick of it in the DMV, so I need to live vicariously through you. Especially since my son, who will be in the totality, will absolutely fail to get a photo.
On that note, see you next week!