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Having tolls removed from a major route in British Columbia, Canada, has taken some of the sting out of the cost of operating a trucking business in that province, but there’s still plenty of sting to go around. In late September, the government removed a $20 truck toll and $10 passenger vehicle toll from the Coquihalla Highway, which connects the city of Hope to Kamloops, B.C., in the Canadian West. Provincial officials said that truckers were pleased with the move, and they were. “Given the price of fuel, truckers are very happy with this,” Bridgitte Anderson, spokeswoman for British Columbia...

In the race for a more environmentally friendly world, countries have taken a variety of different approaches to saving the planet. C urrently the countries of Oceania are taking new and interesting approaches to the cause, though not without controversy. Last year, New Zealand politicians passed a bill accepting a proposed emissions trading policy, aka "the Scheme." In this system, greenhouse gas emissions are taxed with the hope that such measures will change investment and consumption behaviors by New Zealanders and build a more environmentally-conscious economy. The system basically works by taxing "points of obligation," including any entity that emits...

Sneaky: Current credit bailout bill contains carbon tax provisions! If you look at page 180 of the 451-page monster bailout bill that easily passed the Senate yesterday (PDF here), you will see that it includes at Section 116 language about the tax treatment of “industrial source carbon dioxide.” It also provides, at Section 117, for a “carbon audit of the tax code.” What could a provision about the tax treatment of “industrial source carbon dioxide” and another provision about doing a “carbon audit” of the tax code possibly have to do with restoring confidence in Wall Street’s troubled credit and...

From page 180 of the Bailout bill: 1 SEC. 116. CERTAIN INCOME AND GAINS RELATING TO IN2 DUSTRIAL SOURCE CARBON DIOXIDE TREAT3 ED AS QUALIFYING INCOME FOR PUBLICLY 4 TRADED PARTNERSHIPS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (E) of section 6 7704(d)(1) (defining qualifying income) is amended by in 7serting ‘‘or industrial source carbon dioxide’’ after ‘‘tim8 ber)’’. 9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 10 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 11 of this Act, in taxable years ending after such date. 12 SEC. 117. CARBON AUDIT OF THE TAX CODE. 13 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of...

...Granholm was asked how to get the public on board the push to more alternative energies. She said some members of the state Legislature aren't enamored with government mandates on environmental issues. If you can't woo them with wind turbines, she said, point to all the jobs that are being created by pushing for alternative energy. Granholm covered numerous other topics: She said there needs to be a "carbon tax'' on coal, oil and gas to help reduce carbon emissions. "That's a good thing,'' the governor said. Granholm said she was in Japan and saw high-speed rail service. "Why don't...

Stephane Dion has officially let the protectionist cat fully out of the Green Shift bag. From the day his ambitious plan for a federal carbon tax was announced, the potential effects on international trade have been perhaps the most important corollary remaining to be addressed in detail by the Liberal leader. ... It would be a shame if we responded by placing control of our foreign policy in the hands of an economic masochist who is not even content to wait for American political action before he tries to impose what he bizarrely imagines to be American environmental values --...

We honestly can't tell if it's brilliant or daft. As experienced reporters and editors, we have borne witness to a panoply of political spin techniques in the past, but Stephane Dion's performance at the Calgary Stampede on Monday may represent a legitimate novelty. To be sure, no one can speak ill of the Liberal leader's courage in visiting the heart of the country's petro-economy to sell his Green Shift plan for taxing the devil out of carbon. The Stampede can be a forbidding gauntlet for a politician (nay, even for a plain old civilian): Even though Stephen Harper spent much...

When the federal Liberals lose the next election and Stephane Dion is forced to resign, the words "Green Shift" will no doubt appear prominently in the first paragraph or two of his political obituary. As a cautionary tale, it will rank right up there with John Tory's disastrous religious school funding proposal in Ontario. Ironically, the legacy of this self-described green zealot will be to kill serious environmentalism in this country for years to come. That's too bad, because the concept of a carbon tax actually makes sense --even, dare I say, to conservatives. I am talking here about a...

Here's something new to worry about: If you can't figure out how much carbon your company is pumping into the atmosphere, you could face fines or even criminal charges someday. Far-fetched? Many companies, from Alcoa to Chiquita Brands to Google don't think so. New legislation targeting carbon emissions in one way or another seems practically inevitable. And that means corporate directors and executives are starting to worry about being sued under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for bungling the job. They're calling it Carbox, and it's inspired a green streak in corporate culture--and spawned a cottage industry to deal with the problem....

It somehow seems right for Stephane Dion to hold his Liberal leader's Stampede breakfast at the Calgary zoo. And if the dorky Quebec politician dresses up like a real Alberta cowboy, things will only get more bizarre. More ludicrous. Heck, Stephane even decided to man up for the occasion. He's challenged Prime Minister Stephen Harper to a rootin' tootin' western debate. The slugfest would be over his brilliant Green Shift economic boondoggle, which he claims will not only "make real progress in the fight against the climate change crisis" but also "make our economy more competitive. "We need leadership that...

How are thing? I mean, really – how are things going for you? I’ve been hearing some…well, disturbing things lately and I just wanted to touch base and see if you were okay.....

If Stephane Dion's Liberals want to avoid a copyright-infringement law suit over the name of their "Green Shift" environmental platform -- Toronto environmental consultancy Green Shift Inc. already has the name registered -- they could switch to "Green Shaft," because that is what their plan would give Western Canada. By placing the bulk of their proposed carbon tax on energy producers, rather than energy consumers, the Liberals are seeking to place an undue share of the burden for their green fantasies on a region where they get few votes -- the West. But, then, isn't that what Liberals have always...

As we headed toward the door at the end of our interview on his carbon tax plan, Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion turned to me and asked, "What do you think about the way the Prime Minister wants to debate this?" He was referring, of course, to Stephen Harper's claim that the Liberal carbon plan was "crazy economics" that would "screw the West" and "screw everybody." It was a moment of insecurity from Mr. Dion, as if he were worrying about the possibility Mr. Harper's low-level pugilism might be an effective counter to Mr. Dion's high-level deep-principle commitment to the Green...

This is a simple cartoon that illustrates the insanity of a carbon tax.

BELGIUM - It has been hailed as the most important European Union legal proposal in the last five years: a package of laws aimed at fighting global warming by reducing carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions from everything from power stations to cars. When France takes over the European Union's rotating six-month presidency on July 1, one of its key challenges will be to get all 27 member states to approve the European Commission's proposals. Officials say that a political deal must be done by the end of the year if the EU is to maintain the moral high ground in talks on...

North America's 1st carbon tax rolls out under fire Fri Jun 27, 2008 8:57am EDT By Allan Dowd VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Civic leader Scott Nelson says he is as worried as anyone about global warming, but that does not make him happy to be one of the first North Americans to pay a carbon tax to curb climate change. Nelson, mayor of Williams Lake, British Columbia, says record high energy prices mean that the levy, for all its good intentions, could not come at a worst time for residents in his community, a lumber and ranching town about...

A growing number of conservative economists are becoming enamored with carbon taxes as a means of using market forces to address global climate change. One of the leaders of this movement is Harvard economist Greg Mankiw who has started a "Pigou Club" named after economist Arthur Pigou who developed the idea of using taxes to reduce negative externalities resulting from market activities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigovian_tax While acknowledging the serious impact a carbon tax could have on the entire economy, these economists argue that the substantial revenues generated by the tax could be used to cut other economically inefficient taxes such as the...

We awoke to yesterday's papers and found Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty urging the federal government to take a "more aggressive approach" and join the provinces in using public policy tools to fight global warming. He meant, of course, that Ottawa should embrace the cap-and-trade model exemplified in the new accord between himself and Quebec Premier Jean Charest. But there is another option on offer from British Columbia, in the form of a carbon tax. In terms of broad economic principles, there is little to distinguish between the alternatives. So just which province should the federal government be following? When it...

For conservatives who would like to think the whole government should be handed over to the liberals for a few years until the Reagan wing of the Republican Party can get its act together, a quick look at a monstrosity under consideration by Congress is in order. Liberal Democrats and "green" Republicans are proposing a massive reorganization of the American economy to fight so-called global warming. Worse yet, proponents of this bill are attempting to sell this eco-socialism as a "market-based" policy, and their allies in the national media are going along with the charade.

With average gas prices across the country approaching $4 a gallon, it may be hard to believe, but the U.S. Senate is considering legislation this week that will further drive up the cost at the pump. The Senate is debating a global warming bill that will create the largest expansion of the federal government since FDR's New Deal, complete with a brand new, unelected bureaucracy. The Lieberman-Warner bill (America's Climate Security Act) represents the largest tax increase in U.S. history and the biggest pork bill ever contemplated with trillions of dollars in giveaways. Well-heeled lobbyists are already plotting how to...

Billions of pounds are being wasted in paying industries in developing countries to reduce climate change emissions, according to two analyses of the UN's carbon offsetting programme. Leading academics and watchdog groups allege that the UN's main offset fund is being routinely abused by chemical, wind, gas and hydro companies who are claiming emission reduction credits for projects that should not qualify. The result is that no genuine pollution cuts are being made, undermining assurances by the UK government and others that carbon markets are dramatically reducing greenhouse gases, the researchers say.

Britain pumped out more greenhouse gases last year under the EU carbon trading scheme designed to cut emissions, according to figures released in Brussels. The British increase was 2.2 per cent. There was an overall increase across Europe of 0.68 per cent, or 16million tonnes of CO2. Emissions rose in ten of the EU's 27 countries, including Germany and Spain, despite the scheme's target to cut CO2 by a fifth by 2020. Ministers argued that the extra 5.4 million tonnes of CO2 produced in Britain could be more than explained by 59 organisations joining the trading scheme, in which polluters...

OTTAWA -The cash-strapped Liberal party plans to spend a precious chunk of its election reserve to advertise their carbon tax when the scheme is unveiled next month. Imagine that. The first election-revving pitch by an official opposition boxed about the ears for more than a year by bare-knuckle Conservative attack ads will be to sell Canadians on higher energy taxes. Some insiders suggest the plan should be launched with defiant fanfare at the Calgary Petroleum Club. Those Liberals sure have a warped sense of humour. Wherever it's launched, there will be no mention of a "carbon tax". They'll call it...

The Great Liberal Carbon Tax is apparently still in gestation, delivery date unknown. Energy prices are already through the roof, up to $1.33 for a litre of gasoline, but the Liberals believe Canadians could use a little more bad news on the cost of heating their homes, running air conditioners and driving to work. Oops. Sorry, not driving to work. The Dion Liberals are deeply, deeply committed to the use of green carbon taxes to bring the power of market forces to bear on transforming the way we live and thereby thwart the ravaging monster of man-made climate change, but...

The Grandiose Socialist Scheme Written by Bridget Geegan Blanton Europe is in midst of a period of enlightenment ... .... as reflected by recent election results where voters revolted against the shackles of Socialism. They’re throwing the Socialists out of office along with their burdensome multicultural policies. The European economy is quickly being run into the ground due to excessive entitlements and a Third World Immigration that guarantees welfare without the requirement of assimilation. Once again, Socialism has proven to be unsustainable in the long term. While an increasing amount of economies throughout the world are embracing Capitalism, America is...

Boulder says more money needed to meet treaty standards. The way things are going, Boulder will only make it about halfway to its goal of cutting enough greenhouse gases to comply with the Kyoto Protocol... The Office of Environmental Affairs is requesting a 53 percent increase in funding, which would boost its budget from $875,177 to $1,343,133. Even if the City Council approves the increase, which would translate to a higher carbon tax, Boulder would still meet only 85 percent of its Kyoto goal. "It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone," said Sarah Van Pelt, Boulder's environmental sustainability coordinator....

The Best Global Warming Videos on the Internet Some people have asked me for copies of, or links to videos that provide an alternative view to Gore’s “consensus” on anthropogenic (i.e., man caused) global warming (AGW). A few of these videos have been broadcast in the United States (e.g., Glenn Beck, John Stossel), but most have not and probably will not be seen. Fortunately, we have the Internet to make these available. Part I: Documentaries is available herePart II: Lectures is available herePart III: Debates is available here Part IV: Short Videos Cheap Sensationalism in Gore’s Slide Show (8:14)This is...

Many friends and colleagues of mine who share my libertarian views are aghast at my organization's policy proposal of the carbon tax to combat global warming. Most of these perturbed individuals are self-styled global warming "skeptics" who are much more persuaded by the scientific evidence doubting the seriousness (or even existence) of anthropogenic climate change than the evidence confirming it. This article is an attempt to reach out to my free-market friends with five reasons why the carbon tax still is the best option for American policy - even if they're right about global warming.

Economic Redistribution Ahead Bethany Stotts, January 31, 2008 .....“The United States is committed to strengthening our energy security and confronting global climate change. And the best way to meet these goals is for America to continue leading the way toward the development of cleaner and more energy-efficient technology,” said President Bush. However, groups such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) view such technology-promoting initiatives quite differently. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría told the United Nations Bali Climate Conference this December that while “cutting emissions and fostering low-carbon activities will require investments in research and development of new technologies,”...

The Global Warming movement has been compared to a religion -- albeit one without God, but with a vision of sin and repentance, damnation and salvation. Not quite. Real religion is about improving the human condition by encouraging moral conduct in obedience to the will of God. The proponents of Global Warming are creating a suicide cult, which -- if followed to its logical conclusion -- will lead to human extinction. Forget the Kyoto Treaty. Forget the Luddite Lieberman-Warner bill to cut so-called greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2050, which would cost the U.S. an estimated $1 trillion and...

China, India could face CO2 tax on goods -U.S. envoy By Reuters Tuesday September 25, 09:55 PM By David Brunnstrom BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Retaliatory steps that comply with world trade rules could be found against China and India if they fail to help international efforts to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday. Speaking before a meeting on climate change in Washington to be attended by the world's 16 biggest greenhouse gas emitters, U.S. ambassador to the European Union C. Boyden Gray said steps could include a tax on carbon emitted by manufacturers. Gray said...

How to Gain A Climate Consensus By George P. Shultz Wednesday, September 5, 2007; A21 We in the United States -- and we as global citizens -- live in what is, in many respects, a golden moment. Economic growth is globally strong, and, if security threats can be contained, this expansion, with some ups and downs, can be sustained. Strong growth means increased use of energy at a pace that can strain the capacity to supply what is needed at a reasonable price. This highlights two urgent questions: how to use energy without producing excess greenhouse gases that create disruptive...

With the prospect of climate change legislation that could cost American families up to $4,500 per year by 2015, and talk of using technology to sequester carbon through well drilling, which ... could cost up to $7.2 trillion – or 60 times the current costs of drilling (Energy Tribune, June 2007) – it is ever more critical to determine whether we do in fact have a problem with carbon dioxide. Despite the 90 percent certainty that man is behind recent global warming trends, the word “uncertainty” appears 494 times in the recent “Summary for Policymakers,” produced by the UN’s Intergovernmental...

QUEBEC (CP) - The Quebec government would like it in writing every time oil companies increase gasoline prices in the province. Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard said Friday the move to limit price fluctuations at the pump will protect consumers against what he calls "unjustified" hikes. This comes just days after Quebec imposed a carbon tax on oil companies and other energy producers to finance its plan to reduce greenhouse gases. The carbon tax is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada. Bechard said that oil companies will have to provide a written explanation to the provincial...

QUEBEC -- Quebecers will be distinct from other Canadians in another way starting this fall: they'll have the country's first designated "carbon tax" to help fight global warming. Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard, who announced Wednesday that a 0.8-cent-a-litre carbon tax will come into force on Oct 1, added that he hopes the oil companies, which are reporting record profits, would absorb the tax and not pass it on to the consumer. Oil industry spokespeople were unavailable for comment late Wednesday afternoon. The tax, Bechard said, is based on the "polluter pays" principle. "That is not negotiable," the minister said....

Save Our Climate Act would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), a senior member of the Committee on Ways and Means with jurisdiction over U.S. tax policy, today introduced the Save Our Climate Act. This legislation would impose a tax on carbon-based fossil fuels to slow climate change.“The question is not if human activity is responsible for global climate change, but how the United States will respond,” said Stark. “Predictable, transparent and universal, a carbon tax is a simple solution to a difficult problem. It would drastically reduce our carbon dioxide...

FORT MYERS, Fla. - America should charge industry for creating greenhouse gases to generate money for investing in clean technology, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Saturday. "People ought to have to pay that want to generate greenhouse gases," Edwards said at a global warming rally that was part of a nationwide day of demonstrations. Edwards said charging polluters could generate up to $40 billion to invest in clean technology to "get us off our addiction to oil." He also said the United States should ban the construction of new coal-fired power plants. The former North Carolina senator, who was...

PARIS (AP) - The United States could face possible European carbon taxes on its exports if it does not sign global climate accords, French President Jacques Chirac was quoted as saying in an interview published Thursday. "A carbon tax is inevitable," Chirac reportedly said in the interview with the International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and French weekly Nouvel Observateur. Chirac urged the United States to sign the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which calls for steep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions believed to worsen global warming, the publications said. France has pushed in the past for a carbon tax on...

When did "Climate Change" replace "Global Warming"?So the Democrats in Congress are taking up "climate change". I must've heard that phrase "climate change" a dozen times in the news reports, but I don't think I heard the phrase "global warming" a single time. Are the liberals so afraid of the reaction to the phrase "global warming" that they are now shying away from it? When did this happen? Did I miss the memo?

NAIROBI (AFP) - The United States set down an early marker of objections to a French proposal for an EU carbon tax on industrial products from countries that refuse to join the Kyoto Protocol on cutting greenhouse gases from 2012. ADVERTISEMENT The top US official at the United Nations climate talks in Nairobi said the proposed tax hit at the principle that countries could take a differentiated approach to tackling global warming, whether members of the Kyoto Protocol or not. "We would not see in this case this kind of approach as being the most constructive one or the most...

Quebec unveils carbon tax Province hopes levy on oil and gas firms will put $1.2-billion toward its Kyoto goals RHÉAL SÉGUIN From Friday's Globe and Mail QUEBEC — Quebec plans to adopt tough vehicle emissions standards and will become the first province to levy a "carbon tax" on oil and gas companies as part of an ambitious plan to fight global warming. The tax will raise about $200-million a year over six years, provincial government officials said yesterday, and will finance a $1.2-billion Green Fund to make reductions in greenhouse gas emissions called for under the international Kyoto accord. Environmental...

Television's liberal 'luminescent triangle' of Rather, Brokaw and Jennings, including all their little cable runts, have turned a blind-eye to the seriousness of the scandals surrounding Vice-President Al Gore. The most any TV News Show (Translation: the left's re-education camp in a box) has been willing to offer, is some quick, cursory soundbite. For the most part, this is also true of their less prominent cousins in the print media. An exception, recently, was an in-depth article by Bill Hogan in the March 23 issue of National Journal revealing that Tony Coelho, who chairs Al Gore's presidential campaign, is...

Duke Energy, a leading U.S. electricity and gas utility, announced this week its support for a global warming tax (search) — essentially a consumption tax on consumers of gasoline, oil, natural gas and coal. The tax is intended to reduce energy use and resulting emissions of greenhouse gases.[snip]Fortunately for now, however, the politics of global warming — established by President Bush, who pulled the U.S. out of the Kyoto Protocol in 2001 — make it unlikely that we will be saddled either by an economy-hurting carbon tax or the dubious trading of hot air. [snip]In mid-March, six energy companies —...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Duke Energy Corp. will lobby for a tax on carbon dioxide emissions that would reduce fossil fuel consumption and begin addressing the global warming problem, the company's chairman and chief executive said Thursday. "Personally, I feel the time has come to act -- to take steps as a nation to reduce the carbon intensity of our economy," Paul Anderson told several hundred Charlotte business and civil leaders at a breakfast meeting. "And it's going to take all of us to do it." Anderson acknowledged a national carbon tax would mean bigger utility bills and higher prices at...

The Minister for Finance, Mr Charlie McCreevy, T.D., announced today that the Government has concluded its examination of carbon energy tax proposals and has decided not to introduce such a tax. ?After an extensive public consultation process, the Government has concluded that a carbon tax is not an appropriate policy option. Instead, we will intensify action on the non-tax measures under the National Climate Change Strategy?. The Minister added that ?the Government is fully committed to the Kyoto Protocol and the international response to combat climate change and that Ireland will meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target under the...

Copenhagen, Denmark - In addition to oil prices hovering at record levels, some economists say a carbon tax would encourage Americans to curb wasteful energy consumption that contributes to global warming. Three prominent economists appearing here for the global economics conference "Copenhagen Consensus" agreed that the chances of approving a carbon tax during an election year are slim. Consumers would face the tax at the gas pump.Gas prices have risen steadily in Denver from about $1.50 a gallon in June to about $2.02 now.Americans wouldn't like the additional hike, but they must start thinking seriously about how to decrease greenhouse...

     Demand for 'Kyoto tax' on the US   Scientists say the climate is warming Countries refusing to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases should face trade sanctions, according to a British independent think-tank. The United States has not signed the Kyoto agreement on climate change and Russia has indicated it may follow. The New Economics Foundation wants the EU to tax imports from these countries because they enjoy a competitive disadvantage as energy costs increase. Signed-up countries are currently meeting in Italy to discuss the treaty. New Economics Foundation spokesman Andrew Simms told BBC Radio 4's Today...

Ottawa alone will decide Kyoto, PM says  'We had a lot of discussion with the provinces ... but there is a moment where a decision will be made': Dismisses Alberta's threat to opt out of environment accord   Alan Toulin, Ian Jack and Tony Seskus   National Post, with files from Joan Bryden, Southam News   Jean Chrétien, the Prime Minister, said the ratification of the Kyoto accord will go ahead without the approval of the provinces, including Alberta.He said the federal government alone will make the final decision on Kyoto ratification, one day after Ralph Klein, the Alberta Premier,...