another one bites the bust

First, You can lobby your elected official. they are there to represent you after all.

Secondly, simply by offering a significant enough tax breaks to regular users of public transportation and car pools will certainly make all those single occupant vehicles think twice before gassing up and heading out on the road. when they see how big the tax refund you and I will be getting and they won't be things will start to change.

The problem is that at this point your elected official simply does not want to give up valuable tax dollars. He needs those dollars to spend on the community which elects him/her. Also, he/she also gets tax dollars the gas companies so it would very difficult for him/her to go in this direction unless people want him/her to do so.

Unfortunately, people simply do not put priority on the environment and that is the problem.

So, how can people be convinced to elect an official that will indeed offer tax breaks?

I believe the change has to start with the people. The government does what the people want. At this point, more people than not don't give a crap about the environment. Until that changes the government will disregard the environment.

Pedro

instead of punshing those that consume too much it would probably work better to give bonuses to those that don't.

an automatic tax break for those who don't even have a drivers license comes to mind…. :devil:

While I'm assuming your comment is blatantly self-serving, I agree that it should be a tax break and not an added tax. I'm sick of the "tax them more" knee jerk reaction we have in Canada.

While I'm assuming your comment is blatantly self-serving, I agree that it should be a tax break and not an added tax. I'm sick of the "tax them more" knee jerk reaction we have in Canada.

Here is my perfect example.

People simply don't want to pay more taxes. In fact, people don't want to pay more. As I have pointed it out, until people are willing to make a significant sacrifice, we are screwed.

We all have to pay more and make sacrifices. Giving tax breaks is NOT the solution. By giving tax breaks you are taking money away from community services (police, garbage collection, etc.) and we all pay for that.

People, everyone has to pay. If you are not willing to, we are screwed.

Pedro

The problem is that at this point your elected official simply does not want to give up valuable tax dollars. He needs those dollars to spend on the community which elects him/her. Also, he/she also gets tax dollars the gas companies so it would very difficult for him/her to go in this direction unless people want him/her to do so.

Unfortunately, people simply do not put priority on the environment and that is the problem.

So, how can people be convinced to elect an official that will indeed offer tax breaks?

I believe the change has to start with the people. The government does what the people want. At this point, more people than not don't give a crap about the environment. Until that changes the government will disregard the environment.

Pedro

Then more people who do care need to direct "thier voice" in the right direction. To lobby more, to protest in effective ways that don't make them look like a bunch of nutters chained to a tree, (not that anything is wrong with that). If the enviromentalist in Canada were as slick and well marketed as a car company, do you not think that people would sit up and pay attention. We need to show a united front to the governement, all the little groups have to come together set an agenda and then show the power that they have. Have you seen the new ad that Alcan has out on tv, where all these people are out in the forest holding hands bringing a sense of eco and community friendliness to the company. That kind of message works. I don't know what the company is trying to achieve in running this add but I tear up everytime I see it.

Some changes I made for myself this winter is I've given up heated showers and heat in my room.

When I wake up in the morning I can see my breath and then 5 minutes later I'm turning blue in the shower but I'm getting used to it now and the reduction of my footprint is huge.

another effect this is having is when I'm outside and my friends are shivering and complaining about the cold I'm totally fine.

While I'm assuming your comment is blatantly self-serving, I agree that it should be a tax break and not an added tax. I'm sick of the "tax them more" knee jerk reaction we have in Canada.

it was half a joke, notice the devil emoticon….

i hear the chinese boneless chicken has also been placed on the endangered species list.

but honestly, some ppl from work went to china recently, and apparently you dont see much inthe way of animals around, and the air so bad that you get constant black snot/mucus.

you can only see for like a 100 feet in some of the cities, and when my friends mentioned this to them, they claimed that the vis was good that day.

india and china joining the oil age is 2b people…good news for an already clean world. at least china is somewhat aware of the issue, and apparently bombai etc are cleaning up their air.

There is an air purity indicator in Agra at the Taj Mahal, it measures a number of pollution levels.

Acceptable ranges were in the range of like .5 ppm and they had readings about 20,000

Agra, is not even a polluted city by indian standards

Then more people who do care need to direct "thier voice" in the right direction. To lobby more, to protest in effective ways that don't make them look like a bunch of nutters chained to a tree, (not that anything is wrong with that). If the enviromentalist in Canada were as slick and well marketed as a car company, do you not think that people would sit up and pay attention.

Very good point and I agree with you.

Efficiency is the key. As far as I can tell, these protests keep coming across as a bunch of whining granola heads that everyone simply tunes out.

Have you seen the new ad that Alcan has out on tv, where all these people are out in the forest holding hands bringing a sense of eco and community friendliness to the company. That kind of message works. I don't know what the company is trying to achieve in running this add but I tear up everytime I see it.

I can't help but react to that ad with a sarcastic frown. I don't think Alcan has stellar environmental record and it just comes across as an effective PR manipulation…

Pedro

I can't help but react to that ad with a sarcastic frown. I don't think Alcan has stellar environmental record and it just comes across as an effective PR manipulation…

Pedro

corporations have figured out the "environmental" market, strong market, chock full of guilt ridden yuppies who are torn between their guilt and their desire to consume.

Any company can make an ad now saying they're donating some profits to some token environmental charity and people think they can now buy products from said company guilt free. Meanwhile the companies environmental practices get worse…..

I challenge others to stop yapping and take the "no heat" challenge. It'll thicken your blood and makes a huge difference….

:fruit:

Yes, while Alcan's "record" might not be stellar, they at least try (i believe) and they do support community initiatives outside of what their own business sector is. They are one of the largest corporate donors to the arts, but that has little to with this. I don't believe there is any one company who has a truly spotless record in thier environmental practices, but I would rather acknowledge those that do try with my dollar, than those that don't.

I would love to have the ability to match the Suzuki Foundation with a communications company like Curve and see what sort of ad campaign they could come up with to make people take notice.

…they at least try (i believe) and they do support community initiatives outside of what their own business sector is. They are one of the largest corporate donors to the arts, but that has little to with this.

Of course, they try.

It's called tax breaks and PR…

Pedro

like I said, hit them where it counts, the wallet. Taxes on consumption, tax breaks for those who participate in registered car pools, or public transit.
The loss of money is a great motivator. That is my idea. anyone else?

AGREED!

Give tax breaks to those that use public transit, Tax the junk out of fast food, junk food, gas… (that could hurt me as well), all the bad things!

AGREED!

Give tax breaks to those that use public transit, Tax the junk out of fast food, junk food, gas… (that could hurt me as well), all the bad things!

Yes gas is undertaxed