Green Options

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Today is July 1, and that means North America’s first ever carbon tax will take effect in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

The carbon tax, introduced in the Feb. 19 budget, taxes carbon-based fuels like gasoline, diesel, natural gas and home heating fuel. The rate of taxation is $10 (Can.) per ton of greenhouse gases generated. The carbon tax will rise $5 a ton for the next four years until it hits $30 per ton in 2012. The tax increase works out to an extra 2.4 cents a liter on gasoline, increasing to 7.24 cents per liter by 2012.

The government has said all carbon tax revenue (roughly $1.8 billion over three years) will be returned to British Columbians through reductions to income and business taxes. But with rising gasoline prices, the addition of the new carbon tax will certainly be making some British Columbian drivers cringe when they fill up at the pump.

What stared as a murmur of discontent is turning into an increasingly vocal chorus of protest as the British public begin to feel the pain of rising inflation, with already high fuel prices predicted to rise by as much as another 40% by the end of the year.

With a tank of fuel for the average family car costing close to $150, high fuel prices have effectively acted as one very large carbon tax - and effective they have been. Britons have reduced fuel consumption by 20% during the past year, driving less, and driving more slowly at the same time. Sales of fuel efficient vehicles are at an all time high.

But unfortunately this is not politically sustainable. The aforementioned protest is hurting the government’s popularity badly as disposable incomes are eroded by fuel bills. Having previously made broad promises to reduce Britain’s CO2 output by up to 80% by 2050 in a bid to profess world leadership on Climate Change, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been carefully avoiding any kind of statement on environmental targets during previous months. Meanwhile Britain is set to miss most of it’s legally binding and far less ambitious climate change objectives anyway.

Top international environmental news for during the week of April 6 - 13:

Europe — World’s first commercial tidal turbine installed (EcoGeek)

“The world’s first commercial tidal turbine has been installed in its home in Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough.

Though it has yet to be turned on, it will be the first commercial power-producing tidal generator when it is (sometime later this year). The turbine has two 16 meter-wide rotors and will be able to run for 18-20 hours a day. The turbine was installed off the coast in an area known for fast moving waters, and because the rotors will only spin 10-20 times in a minute, it is unlikely to disturb marine life.”

Source: EcoGeek. Hot in media: Digg EcoGeek, Digg TimesOnline.

Africa — Tree-Nation (Tree-Nation)

“Tree-Nation is an ecological project with a focused objective: To plant 8 million trees in Niger, Africa to fight desertification! Large-scale plantation of trees will increase the land’s productivity and re-generate the soil.

British Columbia will be the first in North America to institute a comprehensive carbon tax on nearly all fossil fuels. It’s a groundbreaking move that could prove the feasibility of taxing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Beginning July 1st, 2008, businesses and residents of British Columbia will be taxed $10 per metric ton of carbon emitted by fuels such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane, and home heating fuel. The tax will increase yearly by $5 per ton to $30 per ton in 2012, at which point the government will reevaluate the tax rate.

Despite all the talk about solar energy, it only generates a measly .1% of electricity in the US. Meanwhile, national demand for electricity is growing by 2% annually. Considering that solar technology has been in use for decades, why is it not more widespread?

Cheap Fossil Fuels

Even though sunlight is free, fossil fuels in the US have been widely available at a very low cost. There are extensive coal fields all across the country. Nationally, coal produces about 50% of our electricity, with a majority of it being used for base load. That means that coal plants produce a steady stream of electricity a majority of the time.

Natural gas however has skyrocketed in price over the last 6 years. It is widely used to generate electricity during peak times, typically on warmer days when we are cranking up the air conditioning. Natural gas plants can start up quickly and come to the rescue when needed, but the cost of fuel has gotten quite high recently.

Solar energy is very capable of producing peak electricity and is ideally suited for for it. Solar radiation is what causes us to need air conditioning in the first place. The utility companies have started taking notice of solar energy’s potential to generate electricity during peak demand.

After much consideration, the Swiss Government announced plans last week to join its European Union (EU) neighbours in the flight against climate change, proposing new regulations and targets for Co2 reductions.

Switzerland plans to lower carbon emissions by at least 20% by 2020, a yearly reduction of 1.5%.

Longer term, a more ambitious goal of a 50% reduction by 2050 is under consideration, bringing Switzerland in to line with EU objectives to limit future warming to only 2 degrees centigrade. Switzerland is not currently a member of the EU, although the Swiss frequently harmonise legislation with the EU on important international issues.

Whilst these objectives have been approved by the Swiss Government cabinet, they must still go before the Swiss parliament before becoming law. Further proposals, such as a fully carbon neutral Switzerland are also due for debate.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist (R) signed an executive order last summer to develop a carbon market in the state, and has been making other good strides in the renewable energy department. Now, the governor, lawmakers, and Florida-based companies are debating the two main methods of carbon control: A carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system.

A cap-and-trade policy to limit carbon dioxide (CO2) - a major contributor to global warming - is a [...]

Since taking control of Congress last fall, the Democrats have (justifiably) taken a lot of flak for being spineless, but Rep. John D. Dingell’s (D, Michigan) recent proposal for a national carbon tax is anything but. I’ll give him a (biofuel-powered) truckload of credit for coming up with a bold plan for reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Dingell hasn’t brought his plan to the House yet; he’s in the public-opinion gathering

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China's impact on the environment — usually for the worse — is making headlines almost daily: now number one emitter of greenhouse gases, melamine-tainted pet food, contaminated fish exports and on and on. Some Chinese citizens are bravely trying to lobby for change — and suffering consequences — but even officials acknowledge their country can do better. But will it?

As one of the leading consumers of Chinese goods, the U.S. has a responsibility

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