Fossil fuels do not constitute“affordable energy”

Chevron can keep the cost of gasoline low and profits high only because it is shirking its real costs. Approximately $700 billion of damage to the world economy and deaths of 400,000 people are the yearly result of climate change, according to the Climate Vulnerability Monitor. We taxpayers also suffer financially and personally from spills and military involvement in protecting oil sources and shipping lanes.

This is not “affordable energy” as claimed by Chevron’s CEO [“Company’s investment to deliver energy underestimated, CEO says,” Business, Jan. 7]. Affordable energy would come from clean, American-made wind, solar, battery and energy-efficient technology, which is nearly competitive now.

If governments ended fuel subsidies and put a carbon tax on oil, coal and gas production, companies would shift investment to clean energy and make profits in a safer future.

--Louise Stonington, Seattle