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To stem rising seas, climate change, adopt fossil-fuel fee

Juan Carlos Sanchez uses his shoes to paddle a kayak on a flooded street near Collins Ave., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015, in Miami Beach, Fla. The street flooding was in part caused by high tides due to the lunar cycle, according to the National Weather Service.
Juan Carlos Sanchez uses his shoes to paddle a kayak on a flooded street near Collins Ave., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2015, in Miami Beach, Fla. The street flooding was in part caused by high tides due to the lunar cycle, according to the National Weather Service. Lynne Sladky AP

My friend has difficulty getting home during the king high tides because Miami Beach becomes a flood zone.

Climate scientist James Hansen, a former director at NASA, predicts that sea level will rise by at least 7 more feet by 2070. This could range as high 17 feet, depending on the model parameter.

Dr. Hansen was speaking at a recent Citizen's Climate Education Conference. He said that predictions are difficult because the sea levels are rising much faster now than at the end of the last ice age, 20,000 to 10,000 years ago.

In 1800, when the concentrations of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide started rising from our increased fossil fuel burning, sea levels started to rise more rapidly.

Sea-level rise comes from melting glaciers on mountains and on Greenland. Hansen said. "The increased heat-trapping greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide produces warming. We must keep fossil fuels in the ground."

To do this, Dr. Hansen enthusiastically supports President Reagan's treasury secretary, George Shultz, who recommends a revenue-neutral carbon dioxide fee with a dividend paid to everyone.

The fee would make fossil fuels slightly more expensive than green energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydro and nuclear. The dividend would give people more money to spend, stimulating our economy. This would create over 2 million jobs and reduce carbon dioxide levels.

Paul H. Carr, Ph.D.

Palmetto

This story was originally published March 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "To stem rising seas, climate change, adopt fossil-fuel fee ."

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