Saving the planet

[sumdumguy]

We produce 1.6 with 34 mill people India produces 6.4 with over 1 billion people so no I don't think I am reading upside down. As a country we produce less but per capita we are very high.

But what do we sequester? It’s the net that matters. Ever think of that?

[chuckChuck]

Most of us will agree with this. There are a lot of discretionary uses of energy which could be reduced if the price was not virtually free.

So, a prohibitively high CO2 tax would effectively reduce the soccer mom's fossil fuel consumption. But the energy intensive steel mill doesn't have that option, it can only close it's doors and move to a business friendly environment.

If you can figure out how a CO2 tax could target only the discretionary uses, and not punish the productive businesses and citizens who have to do business and live in a sparse cold country where most of the wealth is generated by very energy intensive industries, please share.

Higher prices whether through taxes or market forces will reduce consumption and increase efficiency and innovation.

In industries that have few choices and are less able to innovate and reduce consumption there are options for exemptions that will help reduce the impact (like exempt farm fuel), tax credits for adopting better and more efficient technology, subsidies. I am sure there are other options as well.

If you remember when oil prices and the loonie were very high, many manufacturing jobs in Canada were lost as well. Wages were driven up in Western Canada and many non energy related businesses struggled to find workers and compete in a higher wage environment.

I don't think being overly dependent on the fossil energy sector is the best way to ensure the long term growth in Canada if the world shifts to reduced fossil energy consumption. The oil sands are some of the most expensive and energy intensive oil resources to produce on the planet. The US is becoming more self sufficient in oil and gas which is cheaper to produce. The US market doesn't need all our oil now. This has been a huge change in the marketplace which was not predicted and it has put the oil industry in a precarious position.

It will be a long transition with many small steps along the way.

[samhill]

A carbon tax can be used to lower other taxes for low income consumers or anyone. The provinces can decide how they use it. If you are concerned about low income workers then the simplest thing is to increase the basic income tax exemption on low incomes.

Chuck, your attitude is deplorable. There’s a lot of hard working tax paying parents that don’t let their kids participate in extracurricular simply because they can’t afford the f’in taxes and the governments crazy spending and waste. Including money to special interest groups etc that won’t lift a finger to support themselves. By that I don’t mean people physically or mentally incapable.
We’re a rich country, but taxes are ridiculously high because the spending is ridiculously high.
The USA seem to be much better managed, even with the graft down there so it it graft must be much worse in Canuckvile.

[fjlip]

Let's go SOLAR, turn green from TOXINS? Wow if this is accurate!

Just a few requirements and detriments of solar panel production:

1. Mining quartz, like we mine coal.

2. Using large blast furnaces to turn quartz into metallurgical grade silicon.

3. Using hydrochloric acid to turn metallurgical silicon into poly silicon. This produces highly toxic silicon tetrachloride. Four tons of this highly toxic compound are produced for every ton of useable poly silicon.

4. Solar production industry uses hydrofluoric acid to clean the waters used in the cells. Another highly corrosive, nasty toxin.

5. Solar thin film technologies use highly carcinogenic and genotoxic(causes inheritable mutations) cadmium telluride and cadmium sulfide.

6. Utility scale solar panel projects (230-550 megawatts) use up to 1.5 billion liters of water in production and another 1.5 billion annually for dust control.

7. Used/spent solar panels need to be treated similar to nuclear waste due to their highly toxic makeup.

People think solar electric production and use is green and economical. It is anything but that!!!!

[furrowtickler]

Hmmmm , just take a guess at who is responsible for that ????
Protectors of Mother Earth ....
just a pumping CO2 into the atmosphere while bad mouthing that crazy dirty oil from Alberta .... the biggest hypocrites on the 🌎

[furrowtickler]

That’s 20 or so miles south ..... hmmm poor farmers in that area , absolutely hope no ones farms , yards , houses, families got in the way ..... again .

[farmaholic]

Spring cleaning? Feeding the environment? Stewardship of the land, keepers of the earth.

ps, I like the color of the ground on the dirt road.