Sen. Chuck Grassley can be a climate hero
James McCoy
Register Opinion contributor
Sen. Chuck Grassley can be rightfully proud of his role in promoting the wind energy industry in Iowa, which has the highest percentage of energy from wind power of any state.
It would be a far greater and more enduring legacy, however, if he were the senior Republican senator who broke the partisan logjam on federal climate action and sponsored a companion bill to the House's Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividends Act (EICDA) in the Senate. His leadership would make it safe for less secure Republicans to acknowledge and address climate change.
The EICDA effectively addresses the changing climate in a manner consistent with Republican principles. It harnesses the free enterprise system to efficiently guide us to a low carbon dioxide emission future. It does this while decreasing government regulation and without increasing the size of government. It does not put the government in the position of choosing winners and losers.
The EICDA accomplishes these goals by placing a progressively rising fee on carbon fuels as they enter the economy. The proceeds are distributed to the American people as a monthly dividend with only 2% of the total revenue used for administrative costs once the program is established.
The dividend ensures the burden of conversion to a low carbon economy is not borne by the working class and disadvantaged. It is projected that families and individuals in the lower two thirds of the economic spectrum would come out even or financially ahead with this bill. The Act is also projected to decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 40% within 12 years. It is not the total answer, but it takes us a substantial step in the right direction.
Conversion to clean energy is good for Iowa. Every dollar we send out of state to buy fossil fuels is a dollar we have to work hard to bring back into the Iowa economy. Why should we degrade the future for ourselves, our children and grandchildren to protect the fossil fuel industry? We do not owe them any allegiance.
We have had record flooding in western Iowa this year. With no change in energy use it is projected we will see intensified spring and summer flooding and extreme rains separated by longer droughts. All productivity gained by US agriculture from 1981 to 2010 will have been reversed by 2035. By mid-century in Iowa there will be frequent extreme heat events causing failure of corn and soybean pollination and suspended vegetative growth.
We have all heard the moving testimony of Greta Thunberg. Our descendants will echo her voice. Her plea to us is to believe the scientists, and her ominous observation is "You say you love your children above all else, yet you are stealing their futures in front of their very eyes."
Sen. Grassley's legacy could be altering that trajectory. By sponsoring a Senate version of the EICDA he would become a climate hero remembered forever. Contact Sen. Grassley at 202-224-3121 and encourage him to sponsor a companion bill to the EICDA for Iowa's future.
James McCoy is the Endorsements Coordinator for the Iowa City chapter of Citizen's Climate Lobby.