It's not as if Girlawhirl hasn't heard the term “carbon tax” before. But the first time she heard it, when Al Gore introduced the idea in 1992, it was considered radical. Now, with the report released earlier this month in Paris by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there really is no denying that the world has to do something to save the earth, and cutting carbon emissions is a giant step towards that goal…
So how would a carbon tax work? Just like any other kind of tax, it's added to the cost of the item. But in the case of a carbon tax, it would be items that produce carbon emissions, like fossil fuels for heating a home, or gas for a car, that would be taxed. And it seems like both sides of the table are beginning to agree this type of tax might be a good idea. Conservatives like that everyone would most likely be taxed at the same rate, and liberals like the idea of people who use more fossil fuels having to pay more.
Girlawhirl thinks that Congress taking a serious look at the idea of a carbon tax would be a step in the right direction, but she's still not sure if paying a little more for a gallon of gas or home heating oil will have that much of an impact on Americans who can afford it.
She still favors bio-fuel alternatives and other ways to reduce America's dependence on fossil fuels.
The first city in America to try a carbon tax is Boulder, Colorado. Homeowners and businesses will be charged a tax on electricity. Residents who use alternative sources of energy like wind will get a discount on the tax based on how much alternative power they use. Revenues from the taxes will be used to fund the city's “climate action plan” which aims to increase energy efficiency in homes and businesses and reduce energy consumption overall.
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