Anne Applebaum of the Washington Post has an interesting and thought provoking article this morning. While I disagree with her asessment of the Kyoto Protocol (while flawed, it was a necessary first step and would have been somewhat successful had the USA shown some leadership), I think she is right on the money with her support of a carbon tax.
A tax on all carbon-based energy sources would immediately encourage people and corporations to reduce consumption, buy more efficient cars, (and appliances, lights, etc), update their houses or industries, and develop new technologies. This is probably the single most effective way to push our society towards reducing our carbon-based energy consumption.
I would go one step further and suggest that the proceeds from such a tax should be segregated and used specifically to sponsor green technologies and fund related science.  Such funds could be used to implement more and better mass-transit systems, help people insulate their houses, offer rebates for renewable energy systems, etc.
Any modern society could greatly benefit from such a tax, as it would turn a problem into an opportunity. An opportunity to save money by saving energy; an opportunity t develop brand new industries and markets, and opportunity to take a leadership position in the technologies of the future.
Using the proceeds from a carbon tax to reduce Americans’ income tax burden will win a lot more allies to the cause. This would mean that we shift taxes away from work and toward pollution. It would also mean that we should allow the revenue from a carbon tax to be used for whatever purposes the federal government needs, such as fixing Social Security, covering more of the uninsured, etc. Here’s a good piece from Brookings on this – http://www.brook.edu/views/papers/sandalow200604wri.htm.