To The Editor:
Over a decade ago, the then Chittenden County Representative David Zuckerman proposed legislation to tax energy produced from fossil fuels. Now, the present version of such a carbon pollution tax proposal not only recognizes the deleterious effect of carbon emissions on the public but also includes financial benefits to homeowners for insulating their homes so as to reduce the quantity of fossil fuel needed.
But these financial benefits do not reach Vermonters who are tenants or who live on tight budgets, yet they would like to do their part. New developments in the used-car market present an opportunity.
Forward-thinking buyers (who could afford it) made the more costly decision to acquire hybrids or plug-ins (and even all-electric cars) over the past 10 years but are now turning them in as their leases mature or simply for a newer version. Supply and demand factors in some areas have placed the market prices at a level comparable to conventional used cars yet the recent trade-ins have much lower cost for fuel and maintenance with minimal or no carbon emissions.
This market situation deserves recognition by the legislators -- extend the financial help in the carbon pollution tax proposal to include renters and the lower income population via a cash grant on the purchase of a used hybrid or electric vehicle.
This solution achieves the environmental goal of reducing carbon emissions not only by corporate polluters but also by the citizenry. Reducing tailpipe emissions is the most important contribution Americans can make, reports a source in The New York Times of June 28. This is a win-win not only for here and now, but also for future generations.
Arthur Trezise
Fayston
