Cary’s move toward hybrid trash vehicles is a smart one. While the town’s population is modest, citizens are distributed over a relatively large area, making trash collection costly both in terms of energy and dollars.

As the cost of fossil fuels continues to increase, alternative energies such as these are beginning to take their rightful place as legitimate options for municipalities. Decisions like these are a step in the right direction, but still more can be done. Aside from the actual price at the pump, fossil fuels have many external costs that are not included in their price tag.

In order to encourage further investment in these infrastructural improvements, citizens would benefit greatly from a revenue-neutral carbon tax distributed evenly among Americans. This legislation would help guarantee financial accountability for energy sources that borrow against our future while still protecting American consumers from the price burden.

Erik Vosburgh

Cary