The indications of a warming world are numerous and hard to miss. Last year was the third-warmest year on record for both the planet and the United States-exceeded only by 2015 and 2016. In June, scientists reported that Antarctica has lost 3 trillion tons of ice since 1992-yielding "enough water to cover Texas to a depth of nearly 13 feet," the Associated Press reported.
The indications of inaction on the subject are also abundant and visible. Last year, Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency has moved to ease regulations on power plants and motor vehicles that were integral to the Obama administration's efforts to slow climate change.
A growing group of farsighted pragmatists are trying to find a middle ground.
Former Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott and former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen are part of a new organization called Americans for Carbon Dividends. They support a plan offered last year by the Climate Leadership Council, a group featuring such GOP stalwarts as former Secretary of State George Schultz and Council of Economic Advisers chairman N. Gregory Mankiw.
The idea is to impose a tax on carbon dioxide emissions, starting at $40 per ton and gradually increasing. That would raise the price of a gallon of gasoline by about 38 cents. The tax would foster conservation, make alternative energy sources such as solar and nuclear power more competitive and give consumers and companies time to adapt without painful disruptions.
Right now, most people in Washington show little interest in finding sensible solutions that can attract support across the political spectrum. If and when that changes, the carbon dividends plan should be high on the list.