The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Eeyore wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
Eeyore wrote:
Jim wrote:

The money shouldn't be spent by the govt. It should be spent by the
people who want whatever it is; alt. energy, or more insulation. Otherwise,
you have a Nanny State.
Because the 'Average Joe' can't be relied upon to do sensible things, I regret
that occasionally the state does need to provide some incentives.
The average joe CAN in his sphere of influence: No one would e.g.
actually burn expenisve furniture if they could e.g. sell it and buy
more fuel than is in the furniture.. global warming is a bit like
that..we are burning the global furniture because it is plentiful and free..

We don;t need legislation, we need taxation.

If the trip to Tescos cost £50 you would think twice about getting in
the car to do it.

Heck, you could afford to pay a *rickshaw* to do it for you, at that price.

As I have said elsewhere, whether you achieve this by a tax or a subsidy, overall in
the total scheme of things, it makes little difference. They're just names for
redirecting the flow of money. Some names may be more palatable than others.

I don't have a problem with that at all.

I DO have a problem with LEGISLATION. This makes it look like you are
doing something, when you are not, and has loads of unintended
consequences.

That would only be true of * TOKEN * legislation.


Direct financial bias by the sensible application of
taxes and subsidies goes straight to the heart of the problem.

Don't ban 4x4's - Tax fuel
Don't force people to recycle. Tax *new* stuff.
Don't ban incandescent light bulbs. Tax electricity.

I'm sorry but taxing electricity to the point where people couldn't afford to run
incandescents would simply be ridiculous and get i the way of alot of sensible use of
electricity.

I'd simply put a tax of say £1 / $2 on inefficient light bulbs. Graduated perhaps by
wattage and luminous efficiency.


Don't enforce a minimum wage. Remove income tax. And subsidise EVERYONE.

History shows this just hurts the poor.


Don't susbidise windmills either, just tax fossil fuel. If windmills are
cost effective, people will build em. If they are not, they won't.

I agree with that bit.

Graham