Kudos to Rick Steves for imposing a $1 million “carbon tax” on his travel company and raising awareness of the carbon pollution generated by commercial jet flights.
I love to travel, and I have been traveling since I was 4 years old in 1957. I am painfully aware that my flights on jets increase my carbon footprint and make up a huge proportion of my personal contribution to the climate crisis. The ideal technological solution would be to develop jet fuels that emit little or no carbon into the atmosphere. Until that happens, I am cutting back on the number of flights I take each year and I try to take nonstop, hence the most fuel-efficient, flights.
I also support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (HR 763), a bipartisan solution in the House of Representatives. The time is now to address the climate crisis by putting a price on carbon pollution in this country. Under HR 763, fees collected on carbon emissions will be returned to the pockets of the American people, and it is projected to reduce U.S. emissions by at least 40% in the first 12 years.
Nancy Penrose, Seattle