It's a tax—to become effective in 2010—based upon the production of pollutant carbon dioxide... which is quite another kettle of smelly fish. Wrong again, as far as that last cliché is concerned. Carbon dioxide has no odor... otherwise the world would indeed be a stinking place. This ubiquitous gas is not even toxic in very small concentrations: less than 1% of the air we breathe.
Nicolas Sarkozy has just announced that a tax of 17 euros per ton of CO2 will be "paid by all consumers of fossil fuel" in France. Whether or not you like taxes (I feel that in France, like Guinness, they're good for you), one must admit that this is a big and politically courageous step in the right direction concerning the all-important combat against global warming.I hope that my native Australia will soon jump on the environmental band wagon, instead of simply letting off CO2-filled steam on this all-important question.
William: global warming is a myth.
ReplyDeleteIn fact (official figures) the earth has been cooling since 1998.
Now as soon as the lottery comes up I can buy that 1961 Ferrari 250GT SWB and not feel guilty (as if I ever would have!!)
Paul
I agree. I buy much less ice cream than in former times. And I notice that my microwave oven takes longer to heat up frozen food. Every morning, as soon as I've fed the dog, I gaze eastwards to the end of the valley of the Bourne, towards the Alps, to see whether there are any telltale signs of an approaching glacier. For me too, a Ferrari would indeed be an ideal survival tool if I had to escape rapidly from such a peril.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Very good William.
ReplyDeleteMind you, I didn't say that there was no climate change (double negative, sorry). That's another matter, but I doubt whether Man's influence is as great as is claimed, though deforestation has concerned me for years.