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posted by martyb on Sunday November 18 2018, @12:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the everybody-should-pay-their-fair-share dept.

On Saturday, November 16th, around 282,000 people blocked roads and highways all over France. The protesters, nicknamed the gillets jaunes after the yellow warning vests they wore, had organized through Facebook. Their beef: the increase in environmental taxes on gasoline, on top of a number of other tax increases.

We don't disagree with having to pay more to help act for the environment and fight climate change, was the general opinion, but why should it be only the little folks who have to pay while the elite can easily grin and bear it -- why not tax also all that heavy fuel burned by aeroplanes and tanker ships?

The action, which persisted throughout the day, resulted in over 100 wounded and one tragic death when a mother driving her child to hospital panicked.

The protesters do have a point. While media and politics rightly, if very, very much belatedly, are warning about climate change, the alternatives proposed clearly are not to be taken seriously.

The hard choices we need to face apparently come down to cities investing in smart cameras to fine visitors based on production year and type of their automobile. Public transport investing will come, but not to the countryside where car/ride sharing, Uber and similar services simply are not viable; Tesla and relatives are on another price planet for ordinary people.

As to the EU's emission trading system (ETS) that should drive industry to climate change action: news broke on the same day as the gillets jaunes actions that Britain -- on the verge of leaving the EU -- is one of the biggest net exporters of such credits: Britain had 900 million of these credits too much, for the years 2013-2015 alone.


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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday November 19 2018, @04:55PM

    by Freeman (732) on Monday November 19 2018, @04:55PM (#763916) Journal

    Yes, driving my car produces a certain amount of air pollution. I'm yet to be convinced that it's "the big concern" in the USA right now. Sure, certain concentrated areas, I could see it being a real problem. Silicon Valley, New York, DFW, pretty much all of the major metropolitan areas will have a much bigger problem with air pollution from car exhaust. Whereas, a big diesel truck will be producing a whole lot more carbon emissions per year. Then, there's the factories that supply those diesel trucks with things to ship as well.

    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180910111237.htm [sciencedaily.com]
    "Large trucks are biggest culprits of near-road air pollution
    Date:
            September 10, 2018
    Source:
            University of Toronto Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
    Summary:
            A new study reveals large diesel trucks to be the greatest contributors to harmful black carbon emissions close to major roadways, indicating that vehicle types matter more than traffic volume for near-road air pollution. "

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
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