In November, Boulder voters approved a 5-year extension of its Climate Action Plan Tax, which was set to expire in March. The tax raises about about $1.8 million for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

Boulder is one of a handful of cities or provinces that have a distinct carbon tax. British Columbia is one of the latest: And while political opponents there warned that the local economy would be destroyed by such a measure, instead the economy grew faster than the Canadian economy as a whole.

Critics of carbon taxes in the United States include people who are against most taxes. But some supporters of alternative energy — many of them people who believe the vast majority of scientists who say climate change is real — say that such hodgepodge approaches don’t do enough to curb our addiction to fossil fuels.

At least 10 countries including Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica and Australia have national carbon tax programs. There is a growing movement to have the United States join those countries, with new branches in Boulder and Denver supporting the movement.

The Citizens Climate Lobby wants to create a direct and increasing fee on carbon-based fuels at their generation. The money would be returned to consumers through tax credits. It would lead to alternative energy and clean energy development in the economy, reduce pollution and put meaningful action behind helping to improve the planet.

The measure is starting to get some high-profile support. George P. Schultz — who was Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of State and Richard Nixon’s labor secretary — and Gary Becker, Nobel laureate in economics, recently wrote an op/ed for the Wall Street Journal urging a revenue-neutral carbon tax. The Financial Times ran an editorial urging the same:

“Taxes are always a regrettable necessity, but some are less regrettable than others. A tax that strengthens energy security and cuts pollution, while minimising the damage done to employment and investment, is one of the least regrettable of all.

“Yet a carbon tax, which has all those characteristics, is struggling to find support from the U.S. administration or in Congress. It deserves much wider enthusiasm.

The Koch Bros.-funded political advertising machines and some Republican members of Congress claim that carbon taxes kill millions of jobs — something that isn’t supported by facts in other countries or by serious economists, including Greg Mankiw of Harvard, a former economic adviser to George W. Bush and Mitt Romney.

Bob Dole claims the Republican party could use a “closed for repairs” sign while it comes up with real ideas and agendas. While the sign is out, they could get started on a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

— Erika Stutzman, for

the Camera editorial board