| A couple of snippets here from new economics foundation (nef). The question that isn't addressed is: what can we do about it? The answer of course is very simple - consume less and perhaps more particularly in our society - stop consuming things you don't need. Things will eventually crash - and suddenly there'll be a backlash against scientist - "Why didn't they tell us?" they will yell over the clamour of the food riots. Well, we are being told, repeatedly, but no-one is listening. How do we make people listen? The day that marks when humanity starts living beyond its ecologically means fell earlier than ever this year, on 21 August 2010. The fact that we're blowing our annual ecological budget in less than nine months is not based on need, but on overconsumption. As in previous years, nef has found examples of ecologically wasteful 'boomerang' trade: the UK currently exports 131,000 tonnes of chewing gum to Spain, only to import 125,000 tonnes back again. We send 3,300 tonnes of cuddly toys to New Zealand, only to bring another 2,400 tonnes back again. | |||
An increasingly worrisome aspect of ecological debt is the depletion of the world's fisheries. Now, new research from nef and OCEAN2012 allows us to mark the day when the UK blows its budget for fish consumption: 4 August 2010. | |||
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Living beyond our means
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Manufacturers of all items deemed wasteful should be taxed for their production by a World-wide environmental charity that uses the funds raised to clean up pollution, plant reforestation, promote green products, etc.
Start with a tiny token tax that doesn't put the manufacturer out of business immediately, but means they have to raise their retail costs, gradually meaning less consumers would buy the product as the tax is increased.
The same system should apply to endangered food sources like fish.
Finally, the same global charity also charges export tax on all products in international transit systems if the product is already manufactured at the receiving countries. This tax could be 50% of the article's cost difference, so that 3rd world emerging economies can still find a market for their cheaper products in the developed world but we still drive out unsustainable prices (like £1.99 for kid's trousers at ASDA).
Jings, I love ranting on..... thanks for that.
Word verification:
"shental" - unsustainable cr@p that drives you mad.
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