Green Brown
Gordon Brown, future PM, has shown us his green credentials. The planet will be saved by the Iron Chancellor reluctantly and selflessly increasing the price of fuel by 1.25/litre and air duty by 5 to 10 pounds.
This may make a difference to his sums when it comes to his laudible plans to throw money at education, but it will make little difference to the environment.
If we’re serious about a green strategy, we need to start from the basics and rebuild our who ethos for how we need to work toward living in harmony with the environment in a sustainable way. Jiffing about at the margins with a few pence here and there is not going to make any notable difference, it’s just an excuse.
envoirmental change will not be brought around by taxation….it must be done through global accords with heavy fines, both for the country that breaks the agreement, and(or) the company(s) that is the cause.
by taxing, you will force companies elsewhere and it will be the old case of those that can pay will and those that can’t will go without….
spyder
6 December, 2006 at 11:53 pm
I agree with Spyder, taxation is not the answer. Heavy fines is the answer: both countries and companies should pay for it, change their processes or else risk closure.
But, as is the case with Exxon, campaigns towards making people doubt of the veracity of scientists, should also be fined and dealt with publicly.
This article in The Independent is worth reading:
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2054654.ece
canarislander
7 December, 2006 at 9:02 am
The answer is not to look for a single answer.
First, we need to address deforestation. The developed world is not really the problem here, we can maybe do a bit more, and have sensible low density planning laws that allow for gardens, green spaces and “wildscapes”, but really at the global level, it’s the equatorial countries who need to stop and reverse their deforestation. The rich countries must help them in this, or it won’t happen.
Next, again at the global level, we need to work much much harder on technology to stop carbon gas emissions and work on issues like fresh water recycling.
At the national level, we need to rejig our whole lifestyle to ensure a more sustainable way of living.
Tax might form a minor part of the last of these three, but that’s all.
MrZhisou
7 December, 2006 at 10:32 am
Tepid measures, always in my opinion, will not straighten out the tendencies, the bad tendencies the world has acquired regarding Nature. So measures, as you rightly say, should be taken in all directions
I agree with you, deforestation is one major problem. As you may know Brazil has already taken steps in that particular direction by assigning a very large Amazonic zone to that effect, I understand it is something in the region of 15 million acres. More news are given here.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/southamerica/brazil/
If we do everything we must do to stop the high level of contamination, we might as well be changing the capitalist system, but capitalist must not worry because it will be resumed once the changes take place.
canarislander
7 December, 2006 at 11:23 am
And the other major problem is the oceans. We used to neglect the oceans because we were under the impression that the sea water was de-contaminant. This has been proved not to be so. Everything has its limits of tolerance, the oceans are no exception.
Thousands of ships worldwide contaminate the seas. Polluted rivers contribute highly to this process with waste from cities and works. That is another objective.
Perhaps I am too alarmist as far as contamination is concerned. but in this case that greatly affects the human life, alarmism is the least we must feel if we want to contribute to fixing the problem.
canarislander
7 December, 2006 at 11:42 am
Great discussion.
Tony Jupiter of Friends of the Earth described Gordon Brown’s Green getures as *feeble*. Very apt methinks.
earthpal
7 December, 2006 at 3:17 pm
I don’t even think they were feeble. They were fake.
MrZhisou
7 December, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Yes, Brown must obey orders. It seems the great problem of a politician today is trying to concile her/his duties towards the citizens with her/his duties towards those who really matter to her/him: corporations, mainly industrial corporations which is where the main source of contamination is produced.
canarislander
8 December, 2006 at 7:01 am
Such tiny measures do more harm than good in that they suggest that something is being done when it clearly isn’t.
MrZhisou
8 December, 2006 at 10:51 am
[...] There is some credibility in this statement, but it rather misreads the reason for the British measures: Gordon Brown, future PM, has shown us his green credentials. The planet will be saved by the Iron Chancellor reluctantly and selflessly increasing the price of fuel by 1.25/litre and air duty by 5 to 10 pounds. [...]
tygerland.net » Green Brown is no fake
8 December, 2006 at 4:13 pm
[...] There is a very interesting discussion at http://mrzhisou.wordpress.com/2006/12/06/green-from-brown/ [...]
Gordon Brown or how to please both sides of the problem « Political, Human, Environmental Respect
8 December, 2006 at 9:05 pm