{"id":81765,"date":"2009-12-14T16:33:06","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T21:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com\/html\/northwestvoices\/2010508064_climatetalksescalateincopenhagen.html?syndication=rss"},"modified":"2009-12-14T16:33:06","modified_gmt":"2009-12-14T21:33:06","slug":"climate-talks-escalate-in-copenhagen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/81765","title":{"rendered":"Climate talks escalate in Copenhagen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Skepticism: every student\u2019s favorite high-school class<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was in high school and college I used to write letters similar in passion to Molly Freed\u2019s epistle about Copenhagen, anthropogenic global warming and the doomsday scenario she forecasts for her generation [\u201cThis growing panic,\u201d Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 10].<\/p>\n

Then I got older, and wised up to the fact that adults are frequently wrong, that teachers are just as biased as anyone else, and that it\u2019s my duty to engage in critical thinking and exercise good judgment when assessing the truths that other people are promoting.<\/p>\n

I hope Freed grows up to be equally skeptical about what she is taught, reads and hears.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kathy Schwartz, West Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n

Setting a positive example for the world<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul Krugman\u2019s column \u201cClimate policy we can afford\u201d [Opinion, syndicated column, Dec. 8] argued that cutting greenhouse-gas emissions is affordable, as well as essential.<\/p>\n

I believe that not only is it affordable, but it\u2019s the best opportunity our nation has to become a leader in green technology, create millions of new jobs and power our nation with carbon-free energy.<\/p>\n

However, I disagreed with Krugman on the use of cap and trade as the best incentive to accomplish this. We do not need another system based on complicated derivatives that allows offsets for big polluters. A better incentive is to charge fees on carbon at the source, and rebate the revenue to citizens to compensate for higher energy prices.<\/p>\n

This is a straightforward way to encourage investors and consumers alike to find alternatives to carbon fuels. It is immediate, transparent and predictable.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re ending another decade that\u2019s the warmest on record. The level of CO2 in the atmosphere is already 387 parts per million, well above the safe level of 350 ppm.<\/p>\n

Time is short; Congress must act quickly to create a practical way to quickly cut U.S. carbon emissions and set a positive example for the world.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Anne Engstrom, Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n

Pledging to be carbon free for climate change<\/strong><\/p>\n

I applaud The Seattle Times editorial, \u201cPledges, not pacts, for climate change\u201d [Opinion, Dec. 6].<\/p>\n

International focus must be on policy that will reduce atmospheric CO2 levels to 350 parts per million to avoid runaway climate change. Scientists say this is still feasible if we act quickly.<\/p>\n

The best way to accomplish this transition to a more stable climate is a carbon fee with rebates. Gradually rising fees on carbon fuels would provide predictable incentives for investment and innovation in clean technologies and decrease fossil fuel use. Full rebates of the fees to individuals would protect consumers from rising costs.<\/p>\n

Current focus on a cap and trade approach is a mistake. Cap and trade is too slow, too expensive to administer, and is failing to effectively curb CO2 emissions in Europe.<\/p>\n

Our neighbors in British Columbia have already received their first checks from B.C.\u2019s carbon fee and rebate program. A carbon fee system is cheaper, faster and more effective than cap and trade.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s implement a carbon fee and rebate system for our children and grandchildren\u2019s sake.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sue Berlin, Seattle<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Skepticism: every student\u2019s favorite high-school class When I was in high school and college I used to write letters similar in passion to Molly Freed\u2019s epistle about Copenhagen, anthropogenic global warming and the doomsday scenario she forecasts for her generation [\u201cThis growing panic,\u201d Opinion, Northwest Voices, Dec. 10]. Then I got older, and wised up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}