Seattle (CNN) Yoram Bauman learned about the idea that would change his life, and the course of the world, as a nerdy undergraduate at Reed College. The economics professor's pitch was so simple he couldn't shake it. We should make bad stuff more expensive. And, by doing that, make good stuff cheaper. "I remember thinking that it was such an intellectually beautiful idea," he told me. It is beautiful. And, as it turns out, this old theory, which dates back at least to the 1920s and an economist named Arthur Pigou, is essential to fixing one of the world's biggest problems.John D. Sutter visits Washington and British Columbia to learn why a carbon tax is the cheapest, smartest way to fight global warming. Why isn't it catching on?Voters in Washington will decide this fall on a carbon tax that could have far-reaching implications, he writes
But _ is trying to figure it out -- by November.