Ignored on campaign, global warming talk heats up

WASHINGTON (AP) — Climate change is suddenly a hot topic again. The issue is resurfacing in talks about a possible new tax.

Superstorm Sandy, the rare and devastating Northeast storm, and an election that gave Democrats gains have put global warming back in the picture. So has the hunt for answers to a looming budget crisis.

What was once an unlikely solution is now being discussed unofficially— a carbon tax. People would pay the tax whenever they use fossil fuels like coal and oil that produce heat-trapping carbon dioixide.

Former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis said such a thing may be inevitable.

The conservative American Enterprise Institute held an all-day discussion of a carbon tax on Tuesday. On Wednesday, former Vice President Al Gore launches a 24-hour online talkfest about global warming and disasters.