Carbon Tax

 History Highway system  tools   gasoline tax

 2001  The industry thought conservation would occur as soon as oil was $100.00/barrel.

 Now we have a deadline of 2050 for climate change.

 The need is to penalize carbon emissions at all levels from consumers for heat and autos, to industry.

 The gradual implementation of a carbon tax on all carbon based emissions will encourage conservation and a changeover to renewable energy. 

With gradual implementation, the carbon tax base can be increased as the years pass.  Business and personal budgets will adjust to paying their fair share for pollution.  As the taxes increase, the consumer will think more about their personal need to conserve and change energy use habits.

 Kids in their cars will reduce unessential “bombing around.”

 As electric vehicles become more pervasive, road taxes will have to be collected at charging stations.  States will charge highway taxes at registration. 

 So what happens to the collected funds? The money can be used to finance infrastructure changes as do highway taxes.  Some can be set aside to fund incentives for newer technologies. 

 So what needs to be taxed?  Everything, from methane producing cattle, gasoline, fuel oil, trash, electricity, buildings, railroads, ships, power producers: all carbon emission sources.

 Electric utilities will have to raise rates to finance future infrastructure changes to bring the renewable non carbon emission electric power to the increased demand by industry and consumers and government to heat buildings and homes. 

 The key is to begin the understanding that everyone is going to have to change, and pay for the change.  With gradual implementation, society can adjust to the change.  The amount of money will be massive as the process progresses. 

 Folks will realize over time the necessity of having all carbon users pay and play for the transition from an unacceptable coexistence with their environment to a more sustainable relationship.

 The need for change will have to be sold to the people. Politicians will need to embrace the need, or be replaced by those that do. 

 We have all witnessed the need for education and repeated messages about the needs, during the recent epidemic.  A greater effort will be needed to educate and gain the cooperation of the people, to make real progress for carbon emission reduction.  This is not going to be easy.  The epidemic came out of nowhere, and will be dealt with in record time.  The environmental climate problem has been with us for 100 years.  It is never going to go away.  The importance and the urgency require us to move with purpose and determination from now, on into the future.

 We will never be free of carbon use.  Even with the transition to greater use of renewable energy, we will still have to maintain our carbon infrastructure. The most recent power failure in Texas demonstrates the need for current systems to be kept in place as back up to a frail electric grid.  This does not reduce the requirement that we install electric heating and cooling and appliances as soon as possible.  The reliance on carbon fuels to heat, bath and cook can be reduced now with electric means for the bulk of our needs.

 Conservation to improve energy use by making our buildings and homes less energy intensive, with insulation, window renovation and heating system efficiency will eventually pay off in reduction of current carbon emissions and the need for electricity when the transition is completed.

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