How a B.C. carbon tax rose from Dion’s ashes

A great article on the May 19 Globe and Mail analyzing how the BC Carbon Tax “’survived” the recent BC provincial election while Stéphane Dion Carbon Shift didn’t. Stewart Elgie, David Boyd, and Chris Waddell , three Law, Economics, and Journalism professors in Ottawa, have come up with six reasons:

1. Do not make Carbon Tax as the main issue for the election campaign (that’s what Dion and James did)
   • carbon tax is very important, but there are more important political issues
2. Keep it simple (not many understand the BC carbon tax; no one understands Dion’s carbon shift)
3. Timing is important (Dion brought up the carbon shift when oil is at record price; oil price was 1/3 of the height during the recent BC election)
4. Good communication! (Dion couldn’t get his point across; James couldn’t come up with solid carbon policy for her party)
5. Deep pocket (Dion had less marketing budget than Harper; James had less marketing budget than Campbell)
6. Best policy may not win! (Dion lost on a better policy; yet Campbell won with a better policy) - yes, the Carbon Tax is one of the best policies!!

Here’s one of the best quote about why Carbon Tax should not be the centre of the election campaign:

“If you are a travel company trying to sell a tropical vacation, you emphasize the beach, not the flight.”

- by Angus McAllister

This is it!!  We want a sustainable/low carbon future; let’s emphasize on the ends, and let’s work together to get there - through carbon tax, renewable energy investment, energy conservation, or whatever the means might be!

Is Environment everything that is not me?

The Environment is everything that isn’t me

by Albert Einstein

I find this powerful because humans are born selfish (or at least i believe so) as a survival instint.  Since the environment isn’t us, we tend to be a lot less careful with it.  If we can believe that the environment is part of us, then we can address climate change much more efficiently.

Your thought?