To the Journal editor:

I’m a retired meteorologist with two degrees in atmospheric science.

The great majority of the most qualified scientists in my field believe human-caused greenhouse gas emissions (and other short-sighted, careless actions like widespread deforestation) are responsible for a dangerous climate change that is causing an overall global warming and more extreme weather-related disasters around the Earth.

In fact, NASA reports 2020 ended up tied with 2016 as the warmest year in terms of global average temperature since records began in the 1880s and the Earth’s average temperature has risen more than 2 degrees F since 1880.

This warming world will exacerbate the spread of dangerous diseases like COVID-19, increasing the probability of more deadly pandemics in the future.

The higher probability of extreme weather events, like the devastating flooding that recently impacted Nashville, Tennessee, in late March when about 7 inches of rain fell in only two days (that total precipitation is about 20 percent of the annual average at Marquette), flooding that occurred in the Keweenaw on Father’s Day in 2018 and the heat/drought that fueled the fires which ravaged the western U.S. in 2020, will require expensive responses that exacerbate budget deficits.

Urgent action to reduce these emissions/carbon pollution and switch to the use of more clean, renewable energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal is necessary to slow this destructive climate change.

That’s why I was happy to read Rep Ted Deutch, D-Fla., recently reintroduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act into the 117th Congress.

This legislation would place a gradually rising fee on carbon pollution that will help the U.S. get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Revenue from the fee would be distributed evenly to all Americans in the form of monthly payments.

In response, former Republican U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney stated: “A tax on carbon is the most market-friendly and efficient means of value pricing the adverse impacts of burning carbon and of driving the energy markets towards cleaner fuels.”

I urge your readers to go to cclusa.org/call and follow the listed scripts to phone and encourage U.S. Rep Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, as well as U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act and other actions to slow this dangerous climate change.