In Tom Osborne’s article about tackling climate change utilizing a carbon tax (HR 763), he refers to study results from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI). When the REMI report of June 9, 2014 concludes, for example, that over 20 years the reduction in air pollution from a carbon tax would save 227,000 lives, that sounds awesome, but can we trust that? The answer is a solid yes. Readers may well not have heard of this group, but it is a highly experienced and respected economic consulting firm founded in 1980, which uses open-source economic models for the primary goal of informing government officials of the expected effects of policy measures being crafted. Political conservatives, in particular, may be skeptical. Consider that in 1993, when the organization was only 13 years old, Edwin S. Mills, of the libertarian think tank, The Cato Institute, had this to say about REMI: “REMI appears to be among the very best regional impact models…Much research and hard work have gone into REMI’s formulations and estimation; much of its content is based upon publications in scholarly journals.” People of all political persuasions should get behind HR 763 as the right thing to do to reduce carbon emissions, which is essential. California’s bluffs are already crumbling (e.g., Del Mar) and the wildfires happening now make 1993 look like a quaint campfire by comparison. There is absolutely no more time to waste.
Gary Stewart, Laguna Beach
