Sustainable means forever
Just more political hot air about emissions
Sent to (B.C. Premier) Gordon Campbell and assorted others, July 4 2008
Dear Premier Campbell:
The advertising promoting our shiny new carbon tax claims that, by 2020, the reduction in GHG emissions will be roughly equivalent to removing 800,000 cars from the road (787,000 according to the British Columbia government website).
According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia is growing more rapidly than most other provinces. At the current annual growth rate of 1.4%, British Columbia’s population stands to double within 50 years. In one year, the increase will be about 60,000 people, or about 24,000 households.
At an average of about 1.8 vehicles per household, each year the number of vehicles will increase by approximately 43,200. This means that, by your target year of 2020, the number of vehicles will increase by approximately 520,000. It also means that by the year 2026, all the supposed reductions in GHG emissions will be completely cancelled by the increased number of vehicles on the road (not to mention the increased GHG emissons from other sources which are required to support this population growth).
The response, I’m sure, is that this is only a part of a “comprehensive environmental protection plan” (did I get the jargon right?), but again, continued population growth will negate any benefits, even with the token changes people are being asked to make. Any reduction in per capita consumption and emissions is quickly negated by an increase in the number of people. I suggest you read up on Jevons paradox, and the Khazzoom-Brookes postulate, to see how misguided our current conservation efforts truly are. Continuing along our current path will only lead to further species extinctions, pollution, soil degradation, resource depletion, water shortages, and general loss of the biodiversity we rely upon in order to survive on this endangered planet.
In short, Mr. Campbell, your carbon tax is a futile effort if you do not at the same time completely halt population growth in British Columbia – lobby the federal government to stop immigration, promote voluntary birth control, and remove any incentives for more than one child per family.
As a taxpayer, I resent the squandering of my hard-earned tax dollars on futile and wasted programs du jour, and especially on advertising to promote those ineffective programs. I would much rather see my money spent in educating people about birth control, about Peak Oil and its consequences, and about how unsustainable our economy is and how we need to disentangle ourselves from our addiction to growth, oil, and over-consumption.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Rick Shea
Dear Premier Campbell:
The advertising promoting our shiny new carbon tax claims that, by 2020, the reduction in GHG emissions will be roughly equivalent to removing 800,000 cars from the road (787,000 according to the British Columbia government website).
According to Statistics Canada, British Columbia is growing more rapidly than most other provinces. At the current annual growth rate of 1.4%, British Columbia’s population stands to double within 50 years. In one year, the increase will be about 60,000 people, or about 24,000 households.
At an average of about 1.8 vehicles per household, each year the number of vehicles will increase by approximately 43,200. This means that, by your target year of 2020, the number of vehicles will increase by approximately 520,000. It also means that by the year 2026, all the supposed reductions in GHG emissions will be completely cancelled by the increased number of vehicles on the road (not to mention the increased GHG emissons from other sources which are required to support this population growth).
The response, I’m sure, is that this is only a part of a “comprehensive environmental protection plan” (did I get the jargon right?), but again, continued population growth will negate any benefits, even with the token changes people are being asked to make. Any reduction in per capita consumption and emissions is quickly negated by an increase in the number of people. I suggest you read up on Jevons paradox, and the Khazzoom-Brookes postulate, to see how misguided our current conservation efforts truly are. Continuing along our current path will only lead to further species extinctions, pollution, soil degradation, resource depletion, water shortages, and general loss of the biodiversity we rely upon in order to survive on this endangered planet.
In short, Mr. Campbell, your carbon tax is a futile effort if you do not at the same time completely halt population growth in British Columbia – lobby the federal government to stop immigration, promote voluntary birth control, and remove any incentives for more than one child per family.
As a taxpayer, I resent the squandering of my hard-earned tax dollars on futile and wasted programs du jour, and especially on advertising to promote those ineffective programs. I would much rather see my money spent in educating people about birth control, about Peak Oil and its consequences, and about how unsustainable our economy is and how we need to disentangle ourselves from our addiction to growth, oil, and over-consumption.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Rick Shea
Comment
About
© 2009 Created by Rick Shea on Ning. Create a Ning Network!
You need to be a member of Sustainable Salmon Arm to add comments!
Join this Ning Network