Home » Letter to the Editor: Criticism of Hart’s Environmental Views is Too Harsh

Letter to the Editor: Criticism of Hart’s Environmental Views is Too Harsh

by Community Contributor

To the Editor,

While I fully agree with Andrew Borders that climate change caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases has become a crisis that must be addressed, his letter criticizing John Hart for his statements regarding climate change at the Hopewell Township Committee meeting of April 15 seems unfair.  After all, Mr. Hart voted “YES” on the climate change resolution then before the Committee. His “YES” vote was climate-friendly, and made the Committee’s support of the resolution unanimous.

The resolution encourages passage by the U.S. Congress of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763), now introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives with 37 co-sponsors.  If signed into law, this bill would put in place a steadily-increasing, revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend program that would reduce U.S. emissions of the pollutant carbon dioxide by 90% by 2050. It would put a fee on fossil fuels based on their carbon content.  The revenues collected would be refunded to households, so the fee would not be a tax in the traditional sense. The bill includes a border adjustment provision to protect U.S. industry and it protects farmers by exempting agricultural uses of fossil fuels from the carbon fee. It is a market-based approach with broad bipartisan support that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time adding jobs and incentivizing clean power production.

The key action at this point is not to argue about the impacts of human activity on Earth’s climate or one’s knowledge about those impacts, but to take solid steps towards addressing the problem. In unanimously voting to encourage passage of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, the Hopewell Township Committee took such a step. They all deserve thanks and congratulations from the Hopewell Township Community.

Michael Aucott,
Hopewell Township

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