Support a Carbon Tax
Ensuring that the fossil fuel industry pays for the mess that it makes is but an intermediate step to requiring them to meet the standard met by the nuclear industry long ago: perfect containment of waste. But it is an important step, one that will officially recognize for the first time that fossil fuel waste is a problem. Accordingly, NIOF recommends a tax on carbon dioxide emissions of $15 US per ton emitted.
Importantly, this tax must be levied on emissions, not production of energy or even production of carbon dioxide. If a coal-fired power plant successfully contains carbon dioxide instead of dumping it into the atmosphere, it should not be penalized with a tax on the production of carbon dioxide. Likewise, if a new coal-fired power plant is built that is more efficient than an old one, producing less carbon dioxide per unit of electricity output, it should not be penalized with a tax on the production of electricity. And most importantly, power plants that do not emit carbon dioxide should not be taxed as though they did. This approach amounts to an energy tax--which would lead to cutbacks in energy use that decrease turnover in the national power plant fleet. Fleet turnover is an essential element of any market-based environmental strategy; without new, clean units replacing old, dirty units, no progress is made at all.
This tax would be implemented by (1) a motor fuel tax of $0.15 USD per gallon of gasoline and $0.17 USD per gallon of diesel fuel, with a sequestration buy-back program that would reimburse motor vehicle operators for any sequestered carbon dioxide (by weight) and (2) EPA-conducted metered emissions tests of stationary sources, such as power plants. Owners of stationary sources could request a re-test at any time.
Please use the following code to place the Support a Carbon Tax campaign button on your website:
