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01/05/2009 11:31 AM
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Prominent Call For Carbon Tax
SustainableBusiness.com News
James Hansen, head of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, sent a personal letter to president-elect Barack Obama urging him to abandon plans for a cap-and-trade program in favor of a carbon tax to reduce global warming emissions.
Hansen is one of the most prominent advocates of combating climate change, having first spoke out on the issue during congressional hearings in the 1980s.
In his letter he wrote that there is a "profound disconnect" between public policy on climate change and the scale of the problem. He said that cap-and-trade schemes are not up to the task and could waste a decade without realizing significant emissions reductions.
He suggests that a carbon tax that redistributes 100% of the revenue equally among taxpayers would be a much more effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Last week two prominent Republicans wrote a New York Times editorial stating that fiscal conservatives could support a carbon tax.
He also asked Obama to institute a moratorium and phase out of coal-fired power plants. And he asked for a renewal of research efforts into so-called fourth generation nuclear plants that could reuse nuclear waste as fuel.
Read full coverage about Hansen's plea at the link below.
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jan/01/scentist-letter-hansen-barack-obama
