Our current administration has promised to remove environmental regulations from big business in order to boost the American economy. This may sound beneficial for major corporations, but the long-lasting effects on the environment are irreversible. These legislative changes are accelerating climate change and will have more drastic effects if environmental regulations are not reinstated.

The United States has yet to implement federal regulations on businesses regarding environmental pollution and natural resource use. We need to catch up with the rest of the industrialized world in capping natural resource and water use, as well as the use of oil and gas — and fast. We also need to gain a better understanding of how much conservation and minimization of resource use will actually help to alleviate and cut down on excess emissions.

The U.S. has entertained the idea of a carbon cap-and-trade system, as well as a carbon tax, but has yet to come to any final decisions regarding the implementation of these proposed ideas, so neither has been put into action. Let’s explore these potential solutions and discuss how they could be implemented on a large scale:

Carbon Cap-and-Trade System

The cap-and-trade system puts a cap on the number of carbon emissions that can be produced by each business in a single year. That cap would be reduced each year until we reach a set pollution target by a deadline that would be set by the lawmakers at the time of implementation. This system was used to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions in the 1980s and has reduced the likelihood of acid rain by almost half.

This system is designed to greatly reduce greenhouse emissions and forces industries that pollute to purchase carbon credits from other businesses that are not using them.

As an example of changes made in the transportation industry, legislators are pushing to set speed limit maximums for semi-trucks and commercial vehicles weighing 26,000 pounds or more in an attempt to reduce emissions and not waste their carbon credits. This is an example of a way that industries could work to reduce their emissions. This system creates an incentive to reduce emissions in order to sell their unused carbon credits and avoid the need to purchase more.

Carbon Tax

A carbon tax imposes a fee on the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), no matter the person or size of the corporation. Different fuels emit different amounts of carbon when burned, and the price of the tax on each type of fuel would take that into account. This cost would be absorbed by the consumer and would be presented in the sale price of the type of fuel.

For example, coal has 214.4 CO2 emissions per million Btu, and natural gas has only 117 CO2 emissions per million Btu. As a result, the latter would be more inexpensive for consumers. The purpose of such a tax would make it no longer financially feasible to utilize fossil fuels and gradually lead us towards clean energy use instead.

Practical Ways to Conserve Resources

Large corporations and businesses have the ability to cause much more damage than we do as individuals. However, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t attempt to conserve energy and natural resource use in our own homes and everyday lives. Entrepreneurs have begun to focus on reducing resource use and pollution emissions in order to adhere to the concept of a circular economy — an alternative to the traditional “make, use, and dispose” cycle of consumption by recycling and keeping resources in use for as long as possible. We can do the same in our daily lives.

Implementing alternative energies into our home, such as solar or geothermal, will reduce the amount of energy we are pulling from the coal-powered energy grid. Simple practices, such as turning off the lights when you leave a room and carrying a reusable grocery bag, should not be discounted. Installing low-flow shower heads and toilets when remodeling your bathroom is a great means of conserving water. It’s essential to reduce your waste and recycle what you can in your day-to-day life.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed when faced with the amount of environmental degradation that has occurred as a result of big business. Use your purchasing power to give your dollars a voice; buy from companies that put fair trade and eco-friendly practices at the forefront of their mission. When issues like a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system make their way to the ballot, make your vote count. Conserving and using less are the only ways to shape a sustainable future for our planet.