[ZNPaaneah]

Many Americans put this as one of the biggest issues they see, right up there with health care. The Pentagon also lists this as a very big security threat. It may also be tied to the concern over illegal immigrants -- fear of climate refugees.

A carbon tax is counterproductive, like shooting yourself in the foot.

However, we do have technologies that can create the fuel we need without the use of fossil fuel.

So then there are several things the government can do -- there are laws already on the books that encourage the use of solar and cars with very high mpg. We could do the same thing, providing tax credits for people who use non fossil fuel fuels. This could help prime the pump for producing oil and gas from algae. It is well known that these industries are cutting edge (good jobs) and create a lot of jobs. If you roll out these programs slowly they are not disruptive. For example, a 1 penny tax on a gallon of gas would be relatively insignificant to everyone. Filling up your tank might cost 20 cents in tax. However, if that amount were then funneled to the development of non fossil fuel fuels it could be a very huge boost to the R&D of these technologies. Add to that that this fuel could be tax free. Those two changes could have a very minor impact on wallets and industry yet a huge impact on developing this new industry.

Cities can use buses that are far more efficient (some use natural gas, others are hybrid, some are electric, etc).

Mass transit is far more efficient than a private car. One solution that Curitaba in Brazil uses is the bus stops are enclosed. You swipe your card to enter the bus stop (like a subway station) then when the bus comes you can just walk on without swiping. Also, the buses are designed differently, like a subway car so that everyone can walk on and off much easier without having to climb up and down stairs. This is an improvement every city can employ.

A second major issue for cities is that Garbage trucks have to drive all over the city collecting garbage and then all the way to the dump to get rid of it. If you remove the organic waste from your garbage (stuff that is good for mulch) so that you primarily, almost exclusively have recycle trash this is not nearly so dirty. Instead of having to drive all the way to the dump why not just drive to the nearest train station and have a train car where the recycle is dumped. When these cars are filled a train takes them to the dump. This could cut the driving of the garbage trucks to less than half of what they are doing now, perhaps as little as 10%. That is a savings in the number of trucks needed, the number of hours for the drivers, and the traffic problems they cause, as well as the wear and tear on the streets.

The organic garbage is different. That is the stuff that will attract rats, and smells. However, it is also valuable for mulch, can be used in many valuable ways, and doesn't need to take up land fill. It could be sold to rural communities to be used for mulch. Again, this could be collected, dumped in train cars and shipped to an area that paid for it.