Aardvark Daily

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Buying our way out of trouble

Woe is me, the planet is overheating and greenhouse gases are the cause -- or so say some.

Scientists disagree as to the cause and ultimate effect of all this CO2 in the atmosphere, while the media rakes in cash from readers/viewers drawn in by all this doomsaying.

How do we solve the problem (if there is one)?

Well one bright bunch of folks figured (as all bureaucrats do) that the best way is to tax it out of existence.

That's right, I'm not kidding -- it seems that the only solution to any problem (if you're a bureaucrat or politician) is to come up with some new kind of tax.

Yes, separating hard working people from their hard-earned cash can solve anything -- even the looming death of the planet.

If you're a fan of the Kyoto Agreement, you'll be absolutely certain that by charging countries for every tonne of carbon they release, the risk of global warming will go away -- or at least be significantly mitigated.

Yes, that's right -- take money from folks who need to invest in cleaner energy resources and give it to those who already have.

That makes sense, doesn't it?

Of course it doesn't.

And to show just how stupid and misunderstood the concept of carbon credits is, we need look no further than members of our own government.

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The Herald says "A spokeswoman admitted Mr Parker's Holden Adventra was "not so hot" when it came to carbon emissions, but added that the minister bought carbon credits to offset the emissions."

What the?

Does the Minister really believe that by purchasing carbon credits, he's offsetting the effect of the greenhouse gases his big Holden is throwing into the air?

He could pay a million dollars (if he had it) for every Km he drove in that car and it would do *nothing* to mitigate the effect of the pollution it created.

Taxing carbon emissions may give those who came up with this concept of carbon credits a warm fuzzy feeling -- but it does absolutely nothing to mitigate the effects of the gases released.

Assuming of course that we are seeing human-created global warming, as opposed to a natural cycle of global warming and cooling.

This morning on NatRad (sorry, "RadioNZ National") I heard that an airline plans to offer customers the option of buying carbon credits to offset the harmful effects of their air-travel.

What the?

Once again I have to ask: does any sane person really think that by simply paying a little money, they're undoing the alleged harm that their consumption of fossil fuels is allegedly creating in the environment?

I have a feeling that in a decade or two's time, we'll look back on the mid 2000's as the period when people were so stupid that they really thought they could buy their way out of an environmental problem.

This whole carbon credit thing is as daft as the fart tax.

Or have I got this all wrong?

Is there something I've overlooked?

can we really halt global warming by simply writing out a cheque for every tonne of carbon we consume?

Have your say on this...

Oh, and don't forget today's sci/tech news headlines

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