Letter to the Editor published in the Globe and Mail, 2018 December 3
Lead was used in plumbing from the time of the Romans until the middle of the 20th Century. When the neurological effects were understood, governments acted.
• No, they did not tax lead in plumbing.
Tetraethyl lead was used in gasoline to retard ignition in the first half of the twentieth century with the same effects. Governments acted.
• No, they did not tax lead in gasoline.
When the cause of Minamata disease was understood, governments acted.
• No, they did not tax mercury used in the manufacture of acetylene.
When the ecological effects of DDT were understood, governments acted.
• No, they did not tax organochlorines in insecticides.
When the effects of sulphur dioxide on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems were understood, governments acted.
• No, they did not tax sulphur in the production of nickel and electricity.
When the effects of the stratospheric ozone hole were understood, governments acted.
• No, they did not tax chlorofluorocarbons in deodorant sprays.
Now that the existential effects of greenhouse gases are understood, the Government of Canada is fixated on carbon taxes. They are not going to work in a rich country at a level that provides prospects for re-election.
When will the Government of Canada use some of the other tools in its box that would have a better chance of getting the job done?
To start, let’s tackle one of Canada’s big emitters: coal-fired electricity in Alberta and Saskatchewan. That would require capital resources for grid connections to existing hydroelectric power generation in BC and Manitoba and new green generation.
Dr. John Hollins
Ottawa
Leave a Reply