PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • August 3, 2021
A recent letter (July 28) calls for gasoline rationing, as in World War II, to address climate change. The problem is that gasoline rationing is costly and unfair. It does not limit greenhouse-gas emissions from other oil products, natural gas and coal. It introduces a new and complex government program. A carbon fee and dividend policy would tax fossil fuels in proportion to their carbon dioxide content and return the revenue equally to every household. This policy works very much like an efficient and fair ration of gasoline. However, it covers all fuels, requires no complex administration and is efficient and fair in its distribution of the sacrifice of reducing fuel consumption. ~ Michael Jones, Brunswick