Support law that would price carbon

I could use this space to bemoan their inaction, but I prefer to look forward. I want to challenge not only Stratford’s school board, but every board this newspaper reaches to bring one idea to your next meeting that moves schools towards normalcy.

I see most board members relying on county, state, or federal guidelines but ignoring any other data when it comes to making decisions. Remember, those guidelines are just that, they are not law. They should be part of the conversation, not an excuse to simply shrug our shoulders and claim nothing can be done.

Have you considered data that shows schools are not where this virus is being spread? Wisconsinites 20 and under have zero deaths from COVID-19. How about UW-Madison’s study showing a case rate of .000314 cases per player day for Wisconsin’s high school athletes, with zero hospitalizations? Why are we bouncing healthy students in and out of quarantine? Do masking, spacing, sanitation, and other mitigation protocols matter?

I asked my son to get some of his classmates to shoot quick video messages for our school board about how these policies are affecting them. He said “OK”, paused, and said “Forget it. They won’t do it. There’s no point. Nobody cares. They don’t care. We do everything they ask and none of it matters.” That’s the message from hundreds of kids in our county. Do you hear them now?

Travis and Nikki Skroch Stratford

Support law that would price carbon

To the Editor: I was delighted to read in the Wall Street Journal that big business is advocating legislation to address climate change. Companies like Amazon, Ford Motor Company, Citigroup, and several others (a total of 40) are calling on Congress to work with President-elect Biden to tackle the problem of climate change. Scientific data on man-caused carbon emissions has led CEOs of these companies to recommend action for the good of their companies, the nation’s economy and the overall environment of our planet. Over 97 percent of all climate scientists agree, based on peer-reviewed scientifi c evidence, that man-made global warming is not only occurring but accelerating. Increases of carbon emissions are causing an increase in the number and intensity of hurricanes and tornadoes, and increases in other damaging and life-threatening storms. Additionally, severe drought in some areas is fueling wildfires, while other areas are frequently being inundated by rain events. Climatologists predict that these massive rain events should occur only once every 500 years. The Northern Wisconsin area has had two of these extremely rare events within the last 10 years.

The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR763, has been introduced in the House to address climate change using simple, practical, and economically-efficient means. Simply said, this act will place a fee on fossil fuels at the source. The higher prices for gas, propane, and natural gas will promote increases in conservation. Furthermore, when the fee correctly prices the carbon fuel for the damage it causes our environment, it will place green energy sources on an equal playing field and spur innovation (and more jobs) in these industries. It is estimated that in 12 years, a 40 percent reduction of CO2 will be achieved.

The fees generated by this program will be returned to each household on a monthly basis in the form of a dividend that is independent of carbon fuel usage. The government keeps none of the money except for administrative fees which are estimated to be around 3 percent.

If climate change is an issue for you, as it is for business leaders, please call and tell them that you support HR763, The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.

M. J. Pesko Rice Lake