Howdy, or as Riders in the Sky would say, Howdy, Buckaroos and Buckarettes. Important announcement, so Listen Up. On September 13, I will be hanging out with a different bunch of folks in Jefferson City, and we all want you to join us there. Actually, they’re not really different. Just really, really focused. The Citizen Climate Lobby (CCL) is hosting a regional meeting for interested folks throughout Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and southern Illinois. And I get to offer some commentary during the process.

In case you just said “Who, What or Why”, the CCL is a national/international group of citizen volunteers working to repay our (worst) Congress (in history) to pass a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend to address some of the worst, and ironically some of the easiest fixed, excesses in climate changing behaviors [activities?].   Simply put, it is a simple and elegant way to steer us away from fossil fuels through a graduated fee attached to the use of carbon emitting fuels, and collected at the point of extraction or import.  The dividends will then be returned to every household in the U.S. to offset the slight increases in fuel costs passed on to consumers. The funds can also be used to purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles or renewables, and improve overall energy efficiency.

Not so simple, I admit. But if you suspect this is a bunch of dreamers, you should know their members include Nobel laureate economists, climate activist Bill McKibben, and politicians from both parties. Two carbon fee bills were introduced in Congress this year.

The folks coming to address the Jefferson City meeting will include Mark Reynolds, CCL Executive Director, and Madeleine Para, CCL Program Director, as well as old hillbilly me – helping to put these lofty and extremely important ideas into common language and scale, addressing what these ideas might mean on a personal level, and how we might want to support their efforts. This is not a pie-in-the-sky notion. A lot of work and planning has gone into determining what’s do-able and practical, and how it can get passed into law. The cost for the meeting, entertainment, and a gourmet vegan dinner is $35 but scholarships (and some free lodging) are available if you sign up now.

For more information, go to the event website. (https://donate.citizensclimateeducationcorp.org/events/detail?eid=34912)

(And incidentally, in case you’re just coming to see me, I will also have CDs, books, and a newly released 4-CD spoken word collection of my last five years of radio shows for sale.) Join us for a lively discussion and come away heartened by the possibilities created by the good efforts of these good folks.