My Facebook page has been flooded with posts about "Republican elder statesmen" who are calling for a tax on carbon emissions to fight climate change.

So I reviewed the opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, "A Conservative Answer to Climate Change" by George P. Shultz and James A. Baker III, each of whom held  the positions of secretary of state and treasury secretary in our federal government. 

Several prominent conservatives are calling on Congress to adopt a carbon tax. Express-Times file photo 

As a member of the Citizens' Climate Lobby, the suggestion of a carbon fee and dividend is not new to me, but knowing that these two highly respected conservative gentlemen with the Climate Leadership Council are scheduled to meet with White House officials to discuss this proposal is welcome and encouraging. The WSJ article stresses that the plan for a carbon fee and dividend "embodies classic conservative principles of free-market  solutions and small government." 

I encourage skeptical readers to review the New York Times article "The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends" co-authored by Martin Feldstein, Gregory Mankiw and Ted Halstead.

Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, the city council unanimously approved a resolution establishing a climate change working group to formulate a Bethlehem climate action plan! City Council President J. William Reynolds announced that the climate proposal received the most outpouring of letters, emails and calls of support compared to any other proposal.

It doesn't matter what your demographics are. Climate change is real, and we need to take action quickly. We can take federal action or local action. Which do you support? I support both!

Kathy Fox    
Bethlehem

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