A carbon tax bill has been introduced in Congress - what does it mean?

A bipartisan bill to counter the warming of the planet was introduced in the House and Senate in late 2018.  The bill proposes that the extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas be taxed — basic economics says that if we want to use less of something, make it more expensive.  The bill then stipulates that the collected funds be distributed to every household in the country, thereby compensating for fuel costs and stimulating new investment.  We will briefly discuss the history of this bill: Why members of both political parties can support it, and What the effect will be if passed into law.  Lost in the recent tumult of other Washington news, this bill will be re-introduced in the coming legislative session; it will not go away.  

 Biography      Phil Nelson chairs the Golden Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a volunteer nonpartisan, nonprofit group that promotes legislation to counter climate change.  Phil is a geophysicist with degrees from MIT, with a career in mineral exploration, oil and gas production, and nuclear waste disposal.  Since retiring, he devotes his time to Citizens’ Climate Lobby and to lecturing on aspects of climate change, extreme weather, and the human response to global warming.