The poll referred to in "Climate risk: Coastal dwellers should pay" (Our View, April 1) is a classic: Most Americans believe "people and businesses that stubbornly insist on living in harm's way" along the U.S. coastlines affected by climate change should be forced to pay the price for so doing.
How about also accountability for those who are causing climate change to pay up for the consequence of their actions? For example, Utah's polluters.
How about a pro-rated tax on greenhouse gas emitters that would be placed into a trust so people who are being wiped out by events like Hurricane Sandy would not have to rely on the government to help? Polluters, like those in Utah, could contribute.
Or we could take the poll results further. Let's not help any of our fellow Americans struck by any natural disaster that they could have avoided by not insisting on "living in harm's way.
That way, when the stubborn fools who build cities on major earthquake faults get flattened, those victims can pay for their recovery on their own dime, too.
Salt Lakers have enough cash of their own to rise from the rubble, right?
John Harrington
Salt Lake City