Crazy weather this winter, eh Maine? If you’re a lifelong Mainer (or been here at least a decade) you know exactly what I mean. Something is definitely wrong.
Flooding in downtown Portland during King Tide, highest tide of year (Dec. 2017). -WEN file photo by Ron Fucci
If you’re new to Maine, just so you know: 50 degree, 8-inch rain deluges are NOT typical January weather. East Bayside and the waterfront piers were not designed to allow knee deep tidewater. January’s ocean waters used to bear Maine shrimp (RIP), not obliterate century-old fishing shacks.
Climate change is here, and its effects will only worsen without immediate, robust action. Mainers know this – so do Maine towns which increasingly feel the local pain from decades of global inaction.
State, National, and Global Action
There’s plenty we can do to decarbonize our lifestyles. But don’t let individual or municipal carbon footprints distract from where real climate action must occur –systemic solutions at the national and international levels. Maine’s town and state governments should be applauded for ambitious climate goals. But with merely 0.27% of US carbon emissions, even if Maine could magically eliminate its carbon emissions, without global action we will continue to lose all that Maine is known for: lobster, foliage, skiing, blueberries, wildlife, beaches…
Cashback Price on Carbon
That’s why 230,000+ Citizens Climate Lobby volunteers nationally (2,000+ in Maine) continue to push our lawmakers towards climate action proportional to the scale of the crisis. Carbon fee and dividend policy (or a “cashback price on industrial carbon pollution”) has been consistently described by the UN-IPCC as a “necessary condition” for stabilizing the climate, endorsed by 150+ Maine business and community leaders, and more economists than any other policy statement (3,649 so far).
Cashback carbon pricing is uniquely effective in reducing carbon emissions across the global economy. Cashback pricing is also uniquely equitable since it would financially benefit low- and middle-income households. Just ask our neighbors in New Brunswick, Canada where every household receives $736/year – that could be us!
The US remains the only developed nation without some form of price on industrial carbon pollution. As the only state with both senators on the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, Maine is uniquely positioned to bring about this policy. Send a message to our lawmakers today atcclusa.org/write-cfd.
Flooded bicycle path. -WEN file photo (2015)
But don’t stop there! — ask your town and local businesses to support this policy. Since the first carbon fee and dividend bill was introduced, 28 Maine towns have passed municipal resolutions supporting national cashback carbon pricing (with many more pending).
Maine towns know that adaptation and resilience can only do so much. We need federal and international action to mitigate the increasing climate risks that are exploding municipal budgets statewide. Cashback carbon pricing resolutions show Senators King and Collins and Representatives Pingree and Golden that both progressive Maine towns (like Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, Freeport, Saco…) and conservative towns (like Readfield, Appleton, Vienna, Mt Vernon, Vinalhaven, Hamden…) support international action to stabilize our climate and mitigate climate damages.
Has your town endorsed?
Check if your town has endorsed this policy atcarboncashback4me.org. What about your friends and relatives? Call your town councilor or select board and ask how to get started. Experienced Citizens Climate Lobby volunteers are eager to help you with these resolutions and further move our lawmakers towards effective climate action – one town at a time.
Peter Dugas is the State Coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an EN-ROADS Climate Ambassador, and the 2021 Maine Sunday Telegram Source Award Winner.
Maine Towns Demand a Cashback Price on Carbon Pollution!
WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER
Maine Towns Demand a Cashback Price on Carbon Pollution!
By Peter Dugas
Crazy weather this winter, eh Maine? If you’re a lifelong Mainer (or been here at least a decade) you know exactly what I mean. Something is definitely wrong.
If you’re new to Maine, just so you know: 50 degree, 8-inch rain deluges are NOT typical January weather. East Bayside and the waterfront piers were not designed to allow knee deep tidewater. January’s ocean waters used to bear Maine shrimp (RIP), not obliterate century-old fishing shacks.
Climate change is here, and its effects will only worsen without immediate, robust action. Mainers know this – so do Maine towns which increasingly feel the local pain from decades of global inaction.
State, National, and Global Action
There’s plenty we can do to decarbonize our lifestyles. But don’t let individual or municipal carbon footprints distract from where real climate action must occur – systemic solutions at the national and international levels. Maine’s town and state governments should be applauded for ambitious climate goals. But with merely 0.27% of US carbon emissions, even if Maine could magically eliminate its carbon emissions, without global action we will continue to lose all that Maine is known for: lobster, foliage, skiing, blueberries, wildlife, beaches…
Cashback Price on Carbon
That’s why 230,000+ Citizens Climate Lobby volunteers nationally (2,000+ in Maine) continue to push our lawmakers towards climate action proportional to the scale of the crisis. Carbon fee and dividend policy (or a “cashback price on industrial carbon pollution”) has been consistently described by the UN-IPCC as a “necessary condition” for stabilizing the climate, endorsed by 150+ Maine business and community leaders, and more economists than any other policy statement (3,649 so far).
Cashback carbon pricing is uniquely effective in reducing carbon emissions across the global economy. Cashback pricing is also uniquely equitable since it would financially benefit low- and middle-income households. Just ask our neighbors in New Brunswick, Canada where every household receives $736/year – that could be us!
The US remains the only developed nation without some form of price on industrial carbon pollution. As the only state with both senators on the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, Maine is uniquely positioned to bring about this policy. Send a message to our lawmakers today at cclusa.org/write-cfd.
But don’t stop there! — ask your town and local businesses to support this policy. Since the first carbon fee and dividend bill was introduced, 28 Maine towns have passed municipal resolutions supporting national cashback carbon pricing (with many more pending).
Maine towns know that adaptation and resilience can only do so much. We need federal and international action to mitigate the increasing climate risks that are exploding municipal budgets statewide. Cashback carbon pricing resolutions show Senators King and Collins and Representatives Pingree and Golden that both progressive Maine towns (like Portland, South Portland, Falmouth, Freeport, Saco…) and conservative towns (like Readfield, Appleton, Vienna, Mt Vernon, Vinalhaven, Hamden…) support international action to stabilize our climate and mitigate climate damages.
Has your town endorsed?
Check if your town has endorsed this policy at carboncashback4me.org. What about your friends and relatives? Call your town councilor or select board and ask how to get started. Experienced Citizens Climate Lobby volunteers are eager to help you with these resolutions and further move our lawmakers towards effective climate action – one town at a time.
Peter Dugas is the State Coordinator for Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an EN-ROADS Climate Ambassador, and the 2021 Maine Sunday Telegram Source Award Winner.