Kendon Brown
Econ 475
5/31/2018
Carbon Tax
Summary and economic discussion:
Carbon is one of earth’s most plentiful natural elements, in fact it’s the 15th most abundant elements on Earth and 4th most abundant element by mass, in the universe. Further, Carbon can be found in just about any organic compound, from humans to plants to fossil fuels. Unsurprisingly, carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel source this includes coal, oil, natural gas, and petroleum. Indeed, when humans use hydrocarbon fuel sources it releases carbons into the air and it binds with other elements to create Carbon Dioxide (CO2). However, other sources humans use for energy do not create CO2 as a by-product, only combustible fossil fuels create CO2. Energy sources like renewables such as wind, sunlight, geothermal, nuclear, and hydropower are not included in the combustible fuel class and thus do not create CO2. One troubling thing is that Carbon Dioxide is a “Greenhouse gas” which means it’s a gas that traps heat from escaping out of the atmosphere. This is commonly …show more content…
As it’s a close neighbor to America and it stands in stark contrast to America, as it has seemed to embrace the new carbon tax. Indeed, the legislation was pushed by the right wing conservative party and opposed by the left leaning democrats, an odd switch compared to American politics. A common argument among American, right wingers is that a carbon tax will “collapse the economy” or negatively impact it but evidence in Canada’s British Columbia has shown a bright alternative “British Columbia’s economy did not collapse. In fact, the provincial economy grew faster than its neighbors’ even as its greenhouse gas emissions declined.” But this outcome surprised the province’s environmental minster “the people who modeled it predicted this, I’m not sure that those of us on the policy end of it really believed
Econ 475
5/31/2018
Carbon Tax
Summary and economic discussion:
Carbon is one of earth’s most plentiful natural elements, in fact it’s the 15th most abundant elements on Earth and 4th most abundant element by mass, in the universe. Further, Carbon can be found in just about any organic compound, from humans to plants to fossil fuels. Unsurprisingly, carbon is present in every hydrocarbon fuel source this includes coal, oil, natural gas, and petroleum. Indeed, when humans use hydrocarbon fuel sources it releases carbons into the air and it binds with other elements to create Carbon Dioxide (CO2). However, other sources humans use for energy do not create CO2 as a by-product, only combustible fossil fuels create CO2. Energy sources like renewables such as wind, sunlight, geothermal, nuclear, and hydropower are not included in the combustible fuel class and thus do not create CO2. One troubling thing is that Carbon Dioxide is a “Greenhouse gas” which means it’s a gas that traps heat from escaping out of the atmosphere. This is commonly …show more content…
As it’s a close neighbor to America and it stands in stark contrast to America, as it has seemed to embrace the new carbon tax. Indeed, the legislation was pushed by the right wing conservative party and opposed by the left leaning democrats, an odd switch compared to American politics. A common argument among American, right wingers is that a carbon tax will “collapse the economy” or negatively impact it but evidence in Canada’s British Columbia has shown a bright alternative “British Columbia’s economy did not collapse. In fact, the provincial economy grew faster than its neighbors’ even as its greenhouse gas emissions declined.” But this outcome surprised the province’s environmental minster “the people who modeled it predicted this, I’m not sure that those of us on the policy end of it really believed