Letters to Share

Dear Friends,

A carbon tax—widely thought to be the most rational and effective means to reduce fossil fuel and other carbon usage—is not on our government’s current agenda. We can, however, voluntarily tax ourselves and devote the taxes we raise to organizations or projects working to reduce carbon usage and in other ways to heal the environment.

As we described in the September-October 2013 issue of BeFriending Creation, seven of us in the Mount Toby MA meeting began a Voluntary Carbon Tax Witness a year and a half ago. Our Mount Toby group has now grown to 16 and the idea has been taken up not only by other Quaker meetings but also by other faith groups here in Western Massachusetts. Interest has been expressed also by individuals and other groups.

This interest led us to create a website, http://voluntarycarbontax.org, which promotes the idea but is stripped of explicitly Quaker language. We know that when people act together, they gain strength from one another. Our website is set up to encourage voluntary carbon tax groups to join together so we can know of one another, gain strength from cooperation, publicize results and motivate others to join in the movement.

In the first 15 months of our witness, more than $3,500 has been reported. Please visit our website, http://voluntarycarbontax.org, to see where the money has been sent, find out how to register as an individual or as a group, and learn more about this effort. And please share this information with anyone you know who is interested in climate issues.

Roger Conant

Mount Toby Friends Meeting