With some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes, Utah is a haven for the seeker of peace and a respite from the industrialization of the modern world. But those lands have long been in the cross hairs of development’s long sight. With the possibility of an oil well beneath the Fisher Towers, a mine in Moab’s Goldbar Canyon or an off-road vehicle trail paralleling the Colorado River in Westwater Canyon, lovers of the land have fought for decades to preserve the solitude of the desert.

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It seems unlikely that an agreement on the terms of the next climate treaty could be reached at the December-scheduled Copenhagen talks. The United States, not a member of the Kyoto Protocol and one of the major players in the international negotiations tussle over the climate treaty, has not yet reached a consensus over how to reduce carbon emissions and a bill successfully passing through the Senate in 2009 seems quite difficult.

The major issues that US lawmakers need to look into are, first, how to make the transition from carbon-intensive fossil fuels to clean renewable energy sources and, second, how to finance this transition without burdening the people with any significant monetary load.

The proposed carbon trading scheme has attracted criticism from the environmentalists since it allows the government to distribute emission permits to the industries free of cost. A bill proposing a nationwide carbon tax was also introduced in the US Congress but experts fear that, if implemented, the bill would put a financial burden of more than $1000 per year on the US households.

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A week ago, Rep. John B. Larson introduced the America’s Energy Security Trust Fund Act of 2009 in the US Congress. The bill which has evolved from its previous version has advocated a nationwide carbon tax in addition to an ‘equivalent’ tax on the imported carbon intensive goods. The bill also proposes to neutralize the impact on the working class by giving out carbon tax rebate.

Calls for a carbon tax have been increasing ever since President Obama took office. In order to achieve energy independence and reducing carbon emissions due to the country’s ‘historical responsivbility’, President Obama proposed the implementation of cap and trade scheme. The administration feels that such a scheme would not only check the nation’s carbon emissions but would also generate much needed income.

The European Union also proposed that the Clean Developments Mechanism be replaced by a global carbon tax. Citing the drawbacks of CDM, like lack of transparency and beaurcratic delays, the EU proposed that a carbon tax seems to be the simplest and most effective method to meet emission targets and help getting developing countries access to the clean technologies.

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When we talk about addressing global climate change, the talk is often about greening our homes, changing our source of energy, and cleaning up industry.

In my previous post, I briefly discussed the critical issue of food in addressing this problem.

In this post, I am bringing to attention the great relevance of transportation and our transportation patterns and habits in addressing this critical concern for our planet and our future generations.

Automobile travel is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Department of Energy reported that the transportation sector accounts for approximately 33% of GHG emissions in the United States. Approximately 61% of these emissions are from automobiles and light duty trucks. The Department of Energy’s findings put the transportation sector as the largest contributor to GHGs in the country. Unfortunately, it is also the fastest growing contributor according to the DOE’s findings.

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