From the other Joanne Moore

I am Joanne Moore, living in Meadowbrook. I am totally opposed to the views expressed in recent letters of another Joanne Moore living in Brunswick (“Loss of Roe v Wade dark harbinger for women’s reproductive health,” May 17). I would like The Times Record to make this fact clear to the readers.

Joanne Moore,
Brunswick

No to Big Oil, yes to a livable planet

On May 16, The Times Record published a column, “Reject new energy taxes with prices already soaring,” by Phillip G. Kerpen. The author is the president and founder of American Commitment, a conservative 501(c)(4) group largely funded by Freedom Partners, a group controlled by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers. Yes, his group is bankrolled by fossil fuel allies. They certainly do not want a tax levied on fossil fuels. That would cut into their profits and send a signal to all sectors of the economy that the U.S. is transitioning to green renewable energy, a transition that is needed now to ensure a livable planet for our children and grandchildren.

Kerpen refers to the American Petroleum Institute’s climate committee proposal to urge Congress to adopt a carbon tax and dividend and the Business Roundtable’s support of a carbon tax as “green wokeness.” However, large corporations are aware of the crippling costs of current and future impacts of climate change. Doing nothing will cost us more than transitioning to green energy. It is way past time for our country to get serious about stopping the burning of fossil fuels which creates deadly air pollution and ocean acidification.

According to the International Monetary Fund, fossil fuel subsidies were $5.9 trillion or 6.8% of global GDP in 2020 and are expected to increase to 7.4% of GDP in 2025. (The subsidies figures include the cost of the damage done to the planet by fossil fuels.) The ginormous number is indicative of the huge cost burning fossil fuels imposes on all of us.

Oil is a commodity whose price is determined by a world market. We cannot depend on low or stable oil and gas prices. It is time to say no to fossil fuel allies and follow the advice of economists, the IPCC and the Business Roundtable. Place a low but steadily increasing fee on the carbon content of fossil fuels and return the revenue to American households to protect them from price increases.

Dorothy Jones,
Brunswick