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Hi All, Oct 1, 2008
The October 2008 Issue of Canadian Geographic has an interesting
article on Norway and how they have prospered since a carbon tax was
introduced 16 (yes, sixteen) years ago. Large oil royalties no doubt helped.
Politics is usually about choosing the lesser of evils but the
carbon tax idea introduces a good option, because it will encourage
people to adapt to the future and thus avoid being clobbered by market
forces.
E.g. a small privately owned company, LS9 Inc., has developed a way
to produce oil from carbon-rich waste at an anticipated cost of
$50/barrel. If this pans out, it will be the greatest energy advance
since the Carnot (sp?) Cycle. All done so far without a carbon tax but
how else can a tiny company take on Petrochemical giants and win ?
A small private Canadian company (don't recall name) has for some
years had a pilot scale microbial procedure for producing ethanol from
any carbon rich material but had to go to Germany and the US to obtain
government funding to build a commercial scale plant (don't know how
this turned out and funding may have dried up).
Plasco Energy Group Inc, another small privately held company, is
poised to turn Red Deer trash into electrical power.
Somewhere recently I read that killing plant manure, a difficult
waste disposal problem, has taken a new shine as a potential source of
methane (for energy production) and the idea is again emerging that even
relatively small livestock operations can exploit methane to save on
energy costs.
Any Popular Science or Popular Mechanics magazine from ~1978 sounds
contemporary; same approaches, older technology. And when the
petrochemical industry felt threatened they increased production enough
to put these alternative energy companies out of business.
Without the shelter provided by a carbon tax there is a danger that
the mistakes of 40 years ago will be repeated and all these positive
developments, for the environment (and countless others), will end up
bankrupt.
Yt, DW
Rob Woods wrote:
> Just to give a different perspective on the the upcoming election here
> are my choices:
>
>
>
> As person who has long enjoyed the outdoors, recycles, farms as
> organically as possible and until recently on the board of directors
> of a Windfield company I would like to vote green.
>
>
>
> As a Farmer any carbon taxes on fuel scares the living daylights out
> of me as cash flows will be adversely affected and no guarentee that I
> can recoupe the additional costs or qualify for the programs created
> to help farmers. (I do not need new farm equipment at this time nor
> does the Farmer I rent equipment from either as the capital cost is
> too great vs the fuel and efficiency savings).
>
>
> My sitting representative falsely accused the CEO of my current
> employer of insider trading when he himself sent emails regarding
> changes in income trusts before it was publicly announced.
>
>
>
> A conservative party whose tax policies help my middle class pocket
> book but also stopped the sale/split of my employer (which most
> employees saw as beneficial). The conservatives are also
> not supportive of the environmental innitiatives that I would like to see.
>
>
>
> And the NDP party whose heart is in the right place but I think would
> financially tax the country into an economic crash to cover all the
> increased spending.
>
>
>
> Thus 5 choices and no clear answer. An independant would look really
> good right now (Mr Casey, please switch ridings).
>
>
>
>
>
> Rob Woods
>
> Georgefield NS
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Wayne P. Neily <neilyornis@hotmail.com>
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> Sent: Wednesday, October 1, 2008 2:21:21 PM
> Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia's nature and the federal election
>
> Hello folks,
>
> While most of us would agree with Blake that a Harper majority
> would be a disaster for Canada, I would hope that most would vote for
> the party that has the best understanding of, and solutions
> for, environmental issues, unless you are in a constituency where
> there is a real danger that the regressive conservatives might eke out
> a narrow victory. This idea of exchanging votes strategically may
> have merit, but it depends on complete trust between the persons doing
> the exchange and so is subject to abuse, as well as to wrong guesses
> as to which party would have the best chance of an upset.
>
> At the risk of sounding political (I have not yet decided whom to
> vote for), I am envious of the residents of Central Nova, who not only
> have a chance to elect the leader best informed on environmental
> issues (and the only female), but to defeat Peter MacKayavelli, who is
> an embarrassment to Canadians still best known for his betrayal of the
> PCs by breaking the promise that he gave in writing to get the
> leadership of the party. No wonder that he couldn't understand what
> all the fuss was about when Harper decided that the government should
> disregard (or break) the Atlantic Accords. We can only hope that
> enough of the voters there will think carefully, instead of just
> voting for a favorite son of a favorite son.
>
> Think Green!
>
> Wayne Neily
> Tremont, Kings Co., Nova Scotia
>
> "Think globally, Act locally." - René Dubos, 1972.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 07:59:01 -0300
> To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
> From: maybank@ns.sympatico.ca
> Subject: [NatureNS] Nova Scotia's nature and the federal election
>
> Hi All;
>
> I care deeply for the nature of Nova Scotia, and the environment of
> the world. Consequently, it is necessary to get political at times.
> This is one of those times.
>
> I shudder at the thought of Harper achieving a majority government.
> The environment, our culture, and our society will suffer. But how
> can we make our anti-Harper votes count? Fortunately, voting
> strategically is now much easier. Go to:
>
> www.voteforenvironment.com <http://www.voteforenvironment.com/>
>
> It is a remarkable website that is tracking every riding in the
> country, and making up-to-the-minute suggestions on how best to fight
> Harper.
>
> And afterwards, I urge you to contact your friends, family,
> colleagues, and everyone on your e-mail list, and let them know about
> this web site. If we can affect the results in some key ridings, who
> knows what might happen? Ou