This couldn’t come soon enough. I think it is fair to say that we’ve had a summer like no other. A record June temperature and virtually no rain between June and Sept. 10 as well as smoke. But also, terrible flooding from Phoenix to the East Coast. Climate change is no longer a partisan issue.

The chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, has included a carbon price for budget consideration under the reconciliation process.

The price of $15 per carbon ton is there and it increases every year. The price of carbon is collected at the producer level, reducing the cost of administration. In fact, though the cost of the budget is large, the administrative cost of a carbon price is minuscule. It provides a level playing field for commerce and industry to compete to avoid the rising price of carbon.

The single change? The reconciliation process prevents a direct refund of revenue to households, though equity is still served by a rebate to lower-income tax filers.

A carbon price is the most powerful tool available to bend the curve of atmospheric carbon. If we can’t save the planet, we can’t save anything or anybody else. I remember the Economist magazine saying that a carbon price couldn’t be done in America. Prove them wrong.

Your voice matters, and its impact could be profound.

An easy way to let the president know is to use citizensclimatelobby.org/white-house/ or simply www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

Brenda Pace

Bend