HeadDesk

[andrewducker]

From here:

Tony Blair says it is unrealistic to think the tax system can be used to reduce air travel in the UK. The prime minister said it would take a "fairly hefty whack" for people to
cut back on flights in the UK and abroad.

He told the Commons liaison committee that it would be hard to sell, and said he would not be keen on such a move.

Instead, he said, the best way to tackle climate change was to invest in more environmentally friendly aircraft and to invest in other new technology.

Because the government isn't here _precisely_ to look at the big picture in a way that we can't individually do and push us to do the things that actually we ought to be doing.

I can't see how it can possibly be that much harder a sell than the Iraq War, when he didn't exactly have a majority behind him a lot of the time.  If he's willing to do the right thing there, why not here?

Comments

[andrewducker]

How would you feel about an 'environment tax' that went towards paying for enough trees to be planted to soak up the CO2 you'd produced?

[i-ate-my-crusts.livejournal.com]

I pay one voluntarily now.

:)

Which ought to tell you how I feel about it*. As I say, combination seems like the way to go, for me -- use the taxes to pay for environmental projects, and give tax breaks to business researching environmentally friendly aircraft, etc. Multi-pronged approach. I'm also a weirdo who has no problem in general with paying more taxes for services and infrastructure.

*As a biologist, I know that trees really aren't the most effective way to soak up CO2, except during their initial stages of growth and I'd rather see a diversity of initiatives aimed at reducing greenhouse gases through a variety of means.