hi, the following article is by Ray Grigg, from his column SHADES OF GREEN.

I think this is an important issue to reflect, worth it for re-posting here.

Read on :



Sometime in the next month or so, you and every other British Columbian will receive a $100 cheque from the provincial government, a "one-time" Climate Action Credit that is supposed to counteract the financial burden from the July 1, 2008, carbon tax being imposed on all fossil fuels burned in BC. Adults over 18 will receive the money directly; a child's amount will be sent to its parents. What to do with this $100? In a family, it could be multiples of this amount.

The question itself highlights the shortcomings of a cash rebate if the original intent of the tax is to combat climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Climatologists have applaud BC's carbon tax for being brave and precedent setting. However, should people spend their rebate on air travel, gas, a less efficient vehicle or on other CO2-generating consumer items, they would be negating the purpose of the tax – this is why tax shifting is a better strategy. But the government, apparently for political reasons, wants to give the carbon tax the unambiguous appearance of being revenue neutral, so it is returning about $1.85 billion in cash to British Columbians.

Low-income citizens could probably use their share of the cash for day-to-day expenses. But many recipients will treat the money as a government gift, free to be used for discretionary purpose. Thus the subject invites attention. Since the principle of the carbon tax is to slow global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, then perhaps this is where the money should be rightly spent. So here are a few suggestions:

• Use it to start a garden or to expand the one you have. Buy fruit trees. Start a compost. Gardens and orchards not only provide outdoor exercise but they yield tasty and nutritious food with zero-carbon output. Compost adds carbon to the soil.

• Contribute your $100 to a political party or to a political candidate with the greenest agenda and ideas. The economic advantage is that you will get $75 back on next year's income tax, which you can then spend on another climate-benefiting project. More importantly, you will be advancing the legal frameworks that are so crucial in combating climate change.

• Add a clothes line or drying rack to your back yard. This will save on dryer time and electricity and, on many days, will successfully dry clothes.

• Environmental organizations can always use your money and support. You could help fund a local group or an international one such as Greenpeace. Most of their projects have climate-saving implications. Also, your name adds political power to organizations that can then leverage greener policies from governments.

• Buy a bicycle then use it. If $100 won't buy a new one, it may buy an acceptable used one. Not only will you be reducing your carbon dioxide output by cycling, you will be getting exercise, saving money and popularizing one of our most efficient machines.

• Purchase carbon offsets, preferably those that are not otherwise being funded. Be cautious about projects that plant trees because the carbon storage is slow and unpredictable. A project for solar power coupled with LED lights in a Third World country has the triple benefits of reducing kerosene consumption, providing evening lighting for reading or study, and less darkness may even cut birth rates.

• Replace an old appliance with a new energy-efficient one. Gas-powered mowers can be replaced with an electric or rechargeable type. A push mower is even better.

• Vacation locally. Your personal carbon dioxide emission for a return flight across Canada or to Mexico is about 1.4 tonnes – scientists estimate that for a sustainable lifestyle on Earth, our individual annual allotment should not exceed one tonne.

• Weatherproofing your house or adding insulation will reduce heating requirements. More efficient lighting and appliances will also help to reduce CO2 output.

• Buy local food in season. Large amounts of CO2 are produced when food is processed and shipped across countries and around the world. Local food grown in winter in heated greenhouses may be carbon dioxide intensive.

• Donate your $100 to an organization such as The Land Conservancy of Canada or its BC equivalent. The TLC buys ecologically valuable land, holds it in perpetual trust and saves natural ecologies from being degraded or destroyed. Most ecologies, particularly forests, represent huge amounts of stored carbon dioxide.

• To be ambitious, urge your local governments to utilize their garbage as useable energy. Encourage them to capture methane from their existing dump, or to consider garbage processing systems such as thermal depolymerization or plasma combustion. Such closed systems produce useable gas, oil, water, minerals and harmless ash from landfill waste. Designate and insist that your $100 be used for this research.

• Get together with friends, neighbours or fellow members of existing organizations to brainstorm ideas with the intention of pooling your money to support one particular cause. Many creative ideas can come from such group gatherings. If the politics get too complicated and the ideology is too diverse, you can always decide for yourself. But the consequence will be that you may have new ideas that will clarify and resolve your own values and expectations.

• You could share your creative ideas by sending them to your local newspaper. The result could be the start an influential movement that culminates in dramatic benefits.

The rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, the principal gas causing global warming, has increased from 1 percent per year in the 1990s to 3 percent per year in the 2000s, and is now at its highest level in more than 600,000 years. Climatologists are adamant that we must reduce our output of CO2 if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change. And every little reduction helps – something to think about when considering how to spend your $100 Climate Action Credit.