Residents of Fairfield County launched the first Citizens Climate Lobby meeting on Sept. 24 at the Burroughs Community Center.
“We are really trying to make an impact from below on our congressional people to have an effective policy on climate concerns,” said Barbara Bresler, a Bridgeport resident that lived in Fairfield.
“I got people together and we’ve been reading literally around my kitchen table about the issues,” Bresler added. “Almost everybody I have talked to is concerned.”
Bresler was one of a dozen Fairfield County members that participated in CCL’s talk last Tuesday to raise awareness about climate change.
Mary Jane Sorrentino, a member of the Rhode Island Chapter of the CCL, said, “We need to put a simple, transparent predictable price on carbon … [and] focus on getting climate change legislation passed.”
For Maryann Matthews of Trumbull, “Citizens need to get angry about what is happening in the world. They should be angry enough to get on the phone and talk to Congress. Just start making noise.”
CCL is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that lobbies to pass legislation on climate change. It supports putting a tax on carbon-based fuels with the belief that it will decrease the amount of fossils fuels used and move towards clean energy sources, according to its website.
CCL has 73 chapters in the United States and Canada, with Fairfield’s group being the first in Connecticut, the site stated.
A carbon tax would be a fee on sources of greenhouse gas emissions with the intent to decrease its usage. A $20 tax per ton of carbon would raise the price of gas $0.20 a gallon, but the tax would be revenue neutral in that each dollar collected would be a decrease in payroll tax by the same amount, according to CCL’s site.
According to Director of Environmental Studies and Associate Professor of Politics Dr. David Downie, “The carbon tax would absolutely lead to short term and long term reductions in greenhouse gases. It is an incentive to use the energy devices we have to make new energy devices.
“The trouble with carbon taxes is political because in part there are legitimate concerns with how to do it effectively,” Downie said. However, if the tax is phased in gradually, it will not cause harm to the economy.
For students, there needs to be more awareness regarding the effects of climate change.
For Ryan Wessel ’15, a member of LEAF at Fairfield, “Green technology and renewable energy sources are imperative towards the future growth of our society … Instead of taxing, perhaps there should be tax incentives to promote green practices without hurting the economy.
“People, not just Fairfield students, need to stay informed and be able to form an educated opinion. I think that’s a big step in moving forward in environmental issues,” added Wessel.
When asked if students do not have the time to worry about climate change, Allisa Ciccia ‘15 said, “Until it starts snowing in Miami during Ultra, it might not grab too much attention.
“Obviously there are students who care and have invested their time and intelligence to this topic … such as ‘go green’ campaigns [and] reserving energy,” Ciccia said. “What they need to be doing is get other people who don’t know and aren’t paying attention on board.”
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