Environmental Taxes
Environmental Taxes, that's the topic today. I'm strongly in favor of this idea. After all the environmentalist crazies have managed to cost all us lots of money over the years, and they show no signs of changing their ways, so they should be taxed. Heavily.
Take for example the environmentalist movement against nuclear power. Yeah, that was bright. It's why gas cost me $2.20 a gallon last time I pumped some into my truck, and my utility bill makes my blood pressure go up when I read it. It's also why there were rolling brownouts in California in the recent past. For that matter, the death of the nuclear industry in the US is a major contributing factor leading to the invasion of Iraq.
Speaking of my truck, several hundred dollars of the original purchase price, and another big fist full of cash for repairs over the years is thanks to the environmental loons and the stupid anti-pollution gadgets they've managed to inflict on the public. Oh, and you people who used to have cushy jobs with the US automotive industry can give a big shout out to your eco freak buddies for putting you out of work.
While we're at it, everyone who drives or buys anything that was shipped by truck, can give the tree hugging fanatics a hearty handshake and a big kiss of appreciation for keeping fuel prices artificially high by preventing oil production, limiting the number of refineries, and for giving us boutique gasoline. You can ponder how many billion dollars that's cost while you're stuck in traffic because the new highway you could have been zipping down wasn't built because some rare mouse might have been inconvenienced.
Oh, and if you happen to be heading to the grocery store, you can say a silent "Thanks!" to the environmentalists for upping all the prices on agricultural products by placing restrictions on farming practices. Heck, at least 2% of the price is due to the banning of DDT. If you happen to be worrying about genetically modified foods while you squeeze the produce, some of the thanks for that goes to the eco warriors as well and the lack of DDT. Extra thanks is due to the eco idiots if you happen to live in a third world country where you've contracted malaria. Yes, your suffering and lingering death is also due to the lack of DDT.
There is much, much more to thank the environmentalist movement for, but it occurs to me that action speaks louder than words. Thus, I'll leave this by agreeing once more with environmental taxes, before heading out to find a tree hugger to thank in person. Now, where did I put my baseball bat ...
the Grit
Take for example the environmentalist movement against nuclear power. Yeah, that was bright. It's why gas cost me $2.20 a gallon last time I pumped some into my truck, and my utility bill makes my blood pressure go up when I read it. It's also why there were rolling brownouts in California in the recent past. For that matter, the death of the nuclear industry in the US is a major contributing factor leading to the invasion of Iraq.
Speaking of my truck, several hundred dollars of the original purchase price, and another big fist full of cash for repairs over the years is thanks to the environmental loons and the stupid anti-pollution gadgets they've managed to inflict on the public. Oh, and you people who used to have cushy jobs with the US automotive industry can give a big shout out to your eco freak buddies for putting you out of work.
While we're at it, everyone who drives or buys anything that was shipped by truck, can give the tree hugging fanatics a hearty handshake and a big kiss of appreciation for keeping fuel prices artificially high by preventing oil production, limiting the number of refineries, and for giving us boutique gasoline. You can ponder how many billion dollars that's cost while you're stuck in traffic because the new highway you could have been zipping down wasn't built because some rare mouse might have been inconvenienced.
Oh, and if you happen to be heading to the grocery store, you can say a silent "Thanks!" to the environmentalists for upping all the prices on agricultural products by placing restrictions on farming practices. Heck, at least 2% of the price is due to the banning of DDT. If you happen to be worrying about genetically modified foods while you squeeze the produce, some of the thanks for that goes to the eco warriors as well and the lack of DDT. Extra thanks is due to the eco idiots if you happen to live in a third world country where you've contracted malaria. Yes, your suffering and lingering death is also due to the lack of DDT.
There is much, much more to thank the environmentalist movement for, but it occurs to me that action speaks louder than words. Thus, I'll leave this by agreeing once more with environmental taxes, before heading out to find a tree hugger to thank in person. Now, where did I put my baseball bat ...
the Grit
posted by Brit & Grit at 9:30 AM
5 Comments:
Hiya Grit. Sometimes environmentalists go overboard, I agree. I favor any measure that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, without causing environmental harm, including nuclear power. But is it fair to blame environmentalists for all our woes? I would think part of the problem stems from corporate greed and from the Bush administartion's policy to allow those energy companies to write our nation's energy policy in secret, behind the closed doors of Cheney's office. You mentioned rolling brownouts. If memory serves, investigations into Kenny Lay and the now defunct Enron corporation revealed that the shortages responsible for the brownouts were artificial, engendered to increase profit. Nevertheless, solution is more important than blame.
What do you think of the notion of internalizing the cost of pollution as much as possible?
Hi TomCat,
I was just venting. As a farmer, environmentalists don't like me, so I don't like them back ;)
At least the Bush administration has an energy policy. As I recall, there were a couple of decades prior where we, as a nation, just ignored it. Mostly that was due to congress being torn between big contributions from the energy companies and the large number of votes available from the anti-nuke crowd. As usual, the compromise was to do nothing.
Of course, when the acid rain debate got under way, that also limited the number of coal fired plants being built, which eventually made the energy market competitive enough for Enron to make money playing games.
My theory is, if we had gone with nuclear power, without all the lawsuits and over regulation, the cheap electrical power would have spured development of alternatives to oil long ago. It would also have made the transition to hydrogen power much easier.
So, I agree that it's not all the fault of the environmentalists, but they had a hand in our current problems where energy production is concerned. Also, I dread the day a rare mouse is found in my fields.
If I understand your question correctly, I've always felt that one should be willing to clean up one's own mess.
the Grit
hmmm
seems to me Chernobyl and 3 mi island may have a little something to do with the current nuclear policies around the world.
building the plants on tectonic plate boundaries and cost-cutting by allowing building to go forward without adequate inspections sure keeps costs down, though.
and eating DDT seems to be SUCH a good idea. what should we care? it'll only affect future generations.
and those pesky environmentalists were saying for YEARS that we shouldn't be getting rid of all all the wetlands. turns out, those would have saved a lot of grief [and lives] when Katrina hit NOLA, mississippi and alabama.
oh well, it was mostly poor people who died--so, no big deal, right?
keeping gasoline prices low is more important than saving the planet, after all.
Hi Two Crows,
Nice of you to drop by.
Your right about the nuclear accidents affecting the course of US policy. However, without the activists spinning the facts, things would have been very different. Of course, it didn't affect policy in Europe, where they continue to build and export nuclear power plants.
You're also right about DDT. Why should we care about millions of preventable deaths in Africa and South America?
As to Katrina, wetlands, and environmentalists, even a blind pig finds a nut every now and then. I didn't say that tree huggers are always wrong; I was only pointing out that they aren't always correct.
the Grit
I'm about to post an article on my blog about power from fusion. Long term, that could render this argument moot.
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