To the editor:

The lead article in Friday’s Lawrence Journal-World lets us know that all but one Kansas county were declared disaster areas due to the extreme drought this past year. This week we also learned that 2012 was the hottest year ever recorded in the contiguous US, with a 55.3 degree average demolishing the previous record, set in 1998, by a full degree Fahrenheit.

How much evidence do we need that it’s time to address climate change? The longer we wait, the more painful the consequences.

The good news is we can take decisive action now! Dr. James Hansen, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, suggests implementing carbon fee and dividend legislation. This solution would place a fee on carbon at its source and then distribute the collected funds back to the American people on an equitable basis. Seventy percent of households would actually receive more in their monthly bonus check than they would pay for the increased cost of energy.

Besides being nonregressive, this revenue-neutral tax should be appealing to Republicans since it does not increase the size of government. Hopefully Sens. Moran and Roberts and Rep. Jenkins will lead Kansas and the country to an effective solution to this looming crisis.

With this legislation we could become a world leader in the green industry and also ensure that we have pristine air and water for generations to come. America is a can-do nation. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get this job done for this and future generations!