All nine types of conservatives have nothing to gain and a lot to lose under ESSEX. For that matter, many moderates and progressives concerned about the impact of ESSEX on poor Vermonters are likely to reject this carbon tax when they see its economic costs.

As Californians prepare to vote on Proposition 6, a ballot measure that would undo the gas tax hike enacted by Gov. Jerry Brown last year, a Republican member of Congress is pushing a national proposal that would counteract the benefits of Prop. 6’s approval by driving up gas prices and other energy costs.

The Curbelo carbon tax bill would avert warming of less than three hundredths of a degree Centigrade by 2050. That means the bill’s maximum climate impact is literally undetectable.

Let us work to make sure our neighbors are aware of how devastating a carbon tax has been for Canada, so that Vermonters do not have the expend so much energy in repealing our own carbon tax.

The market-flavored approach of the Carbon Dividends Plan may seem like a great compromise to the creators. However, some fundamental flaws and unwelcome implications immediately become apparent.

Whereas two years ago environmentalists encouraged Vermont legislators to adopt a carbon tax that included an 88-cent tax per gallon of gas, they are now softening their demands to the tune of a 40-cent tax. A carbon tax that is slightly less cruel to poor Vermonters is hardly reason to support a “new and improved” carbon tax.