Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Carbon Allowance, Anyone?

I read an interesting article. It says that everyone in Britain could be given a personal 'carbon allowance'. This is part of the effort to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

The system goes like this. Anything and everything that contributes to the emission of these gases (and I mean the purchases that take place), and the person who buys them will be issued a unique number. This unique number will be returned by the person who buys those things. Among the examples of a contribution to the carbon footprints are fuel, airline tickets and electricity.

It is similar to a bank account as the people will be given a statement every month. This will help them keep track of the amount of contribution to the addition of the greenhouse gases. To set things straight, this is how it is similar to a bank account. When your bank account is zero, it means you are broke. Likewise, when your carbon account is zero, you are 'broke'. You have to pay to get more credits. However, if you are a die-hard fan of Mother Earth and you have a very good record of your carbon account, you can even sell your unused credits. Thus, you make profits.

Nevertheless, it will only be introduced within 20 years which will be part of the "Green New Deal". As usual, some agree while the others do not. Those who agree claims that it will only affect those who live lavishly. Those opposing, however, claims that the impact on businesses will be pathetic. Plus, everyone will be living a lifestyle which has no freedom.

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