With More People Hitting the Road, It’s Time for a Carbon Tax
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/with-more-people-hitting-the-road-its-time-for-a-carbon-tax/2016/09/11/87eb0f4a-7085-11e6-9705-23e51a2f424d_story.html?utm_term=.1f3a2e18f049
This article shows that despite efforts being made to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, Americans are now burning record amounts of gasoline. The efforts that have been made to encourage a more sustainable and environmentally conscious nation are backfiring in some ways. The article states, "...higher fuel efficiency might also encourage some people to drive more than they would have otherwise, because their gas bills are lower." This shows that by improving technology and making cars more efficient people actually may be driving more. Therefore, the next step would be to enforce a carbon tax to ensure people are more conscious about both big and small actions that can help to reduce emissions overall. Although the Obama administration has worked towards this, it seems as though a carbon tax is out of reach for the time being, as it is talked about frequently but there are no actions by Congress to back it up.
One has to wonder, with so many "sin" taxes that are aimed at those who primarily inflict damage only to themselves, how can an action that is so detrimental to an entire society amd the health of so many continue to to get ignored? Each year nearly 200 thouasand prematiure deaths occur in the U. S. due to air pollution . The problen is 10 times worse in China. Where are "Sin " taxes at when they could be of real use to incentivise a broader spectrum of the population?
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