From KCRW in Santa Monica and PRI, Public Radio International, this is To the Point.

The Carbon Tax, is it an idea whose time has come?

I'm Judy Mueller sitting in for Warren Only, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Environmentalists have long championed a carbon tax as a way to address climate change.

Now it's winning the support of conservative think tanks as well as a way to address the budget deficit.

Today on To the Point, is the carbon tax a smart way to avert both global warming

and the fiscal cliff? If so, then why isn't the White House proposing it? And why is Congress so

reluctant to consider it? Has Hurricane Sandy changed any minds? On reporter's notebook later on,

the death of Jenny Rivera, the California-born singer who made her mark

in a male-dominated world

of Mexican-American music.

First, here's the news.

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I'm Judy Mueller, sitting in for Warren Olney, back with To the Point from PRI.

The idea of addressing climate change

with the carbon tax is hardly new, but it's suddenly gaining new popularity and from some

unusual quarters. The Wall Street Journal recently called the carbon tax crowd a big tent,

...