Kevin Drum of Mother Jones highlights a new study by the science journal Nature today. The study polls ordinary people by asking them if they would support a carbon tax. Nearly 70% of respondents agree we need something to help us cut down on our use of fossil fuels. When confronted with the personal costs of such a tax, support immediately plummets. As Drum points out, the erosion of support occurs without any of the negative advertising the petroleum industry would deploy in the real world.
Unfortunately, this tracks my own real experience with the existential threat of climate change. Most people, myself included want to do something, but as we know, turning down the thermostat and growing our own vegetables will have virtually no impact on the situation. The big solutions, from home insulation to alternative energy to the aforementioned carbon tax will cause economic pain to many. As Drum has said before, if we can be made to feel good about it and it causes minimal disruption to our way of life, fighting climate change is a feel good twofer. Now, if we can only summon the political will to empower our government to take climate change as the number one problem facing our grandchildren's generation, we will be on the way to making a real contribution toward our species continued existence.
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