One hand tied? Not necessarily

In a recent article in the Daily Herald, "'The U.S. has one hand tied': Casten describes mixed reception at U.N. climate summit," Congressman Casten expressed that there was global concern about the potential for a change in the control of Congress in next year's elections and this was putting the U.S. into a posture with "one hand tied."

With all due respect to the congressman, the real "hand tied behind the back" of the U.S. is that a majority of voters believe climate change is a threat but don't know what to do about it. We feel powerless, but we don't need to. There is a strong, effective action we can take that has growing bipartisan support and that is to put a price on carbon and pair it with a cashback dividend.

If we make polluters pay to put carbon in the air and we return the proceeds to families, we can improve the financial standing of American households and put the country on track to cut emissions by 50% by 2030, as President Biden has promised.

I encourage everyone to contact their members of Congress - I'll be writing Congresswoman Underwood and Senators Duckworth and Durbin - and ask for a price on carbon with a cashback dividend. This will let the U.S. tackle climate with both hands free.

Gabriel Perdue

Aurora