Posted on 04/09/2007 7:37:43 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
Call it the Robin Hood approach to global warming. California drivers who buy new Hummers, Ford Expeditions and other big vehicles that emit high levels of greenhouse gases would pay a fee of up to $2,500. And drivers who buy more fuel-efficient cars - like the Toyota Prius or Ford Focus - would receive rebates of up to $2,500, straight from the gas-guzzlers' pockets.
That's the provocative proposal from a Silicon Valley legislator whose "Clean Car Discount" bill is gaining momentum, sending car dealers into a tizzy and sparking passions among motorists.
Why? It's the first time California has considered penalizing consumers to limit global warming, rather than just providing incentives such as solar power rebates or special access to the carpool lane for hybrid vehicles. "If we are going to effectively fight global warming, we are going to have to find a way to get the cleaner cars on the road and the dirtier cars off the road," said Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Los Altos. "We need to have both carrots and sticks."
Ruskin's bill, AB493, won approval of the Assembly Transportation Committee two weeks ago.
The bill has the backing of most major statewide environmental groups, who see it as one of their top priorities in 2007. And the measure received a substantial boost Friday when it was endorsed by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business organization that includes the major tech companies in Silicon Valley, including IBM, Google, Apple and Cisco. "Forty percent of California's greenhouse gases are from transportation," said Carl Guardino, the group's CEO. "This is a market-driven approach to drive the production and purchase of cleaner cars."
The bill would apply to new cars, pickups, minivans and sport-utility vehicles, starting with 2011 models.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
The mass of people are in favor of fixing GW, but the masses don't understand everything in their lives is fueled by carbon and, under the guise of environmental stewardship, we will cede total control of our lives to the socialists and communists.
From each according to their ability ; to each according to their need.
K Marx
Don’t they have gas taxes in that state? You already pay a penalty for buying a gas guzzler.
Exactly!
Imagine that. Liberals using something else to take money away from some people in order to give it to others.
Sometimes I really hate be in CA.
With Mexican trucks on the roads, we all best be driving Hummers.
Why, a 5-year-old can understand it. Run out and get me a 5-year-old: I can't make head or tail of it.
G Marx
Robin Hood approach?? That's hardly how I'd describe it.
If I recall the story correctly, Robin Hood wasn't the tax collector but rather the man who robbed the tax collector. He then returned the money to those who had paid the taxes.
Instead of this silliness, where are the funds for developing a much needed Mass Transit System? Talk about not seeing the greenhouse for the flowers.
Of course none of this will apply to cars registered in Mexico and driven into the US by Mexican green card holders or dual citizens.
You can also pass emmissions with any old car if you go to the right immigrant owned emissions test station(already used that myself)..they just stick the probe in a good car.
Why should taxpayers be giving “rebates” to people who drive fuel-efficient automobiles? That makes no sense at all.
I would support this if they expanded the reasoning behind. As far as I am concerned, we do need to make our vehicle MUCH more efficient. Not because of Global Warming, but because of our dependence on Oil.
Peak Oil is likely upon us. Even if it’s not, the oil is in “places that don’t like us very much.” We need to move on.
From each according to their ability ; to each according to their need.
K Marx
Glad you asked...
In this politician's area - San Jose, CA, we have a relatively new, extensive, expensive and grossly under utilized light rail system that criss crosses the city EMPTY.
Each train, consisting of several cars is usually carrying no more than a few riders in each car... Many times these are the homeless or drunks using the train as a "home on wheels" or a safe place to sleep.
Due to under utilization by the public, each rider is STILL subsidized by the taxpayer for the bulk of the cost of running the damned system.......which runs from nowhere to nowhere else.
Semper Fi
Defeat that idiot in the next election. I have often wondered about Mercedes, Volvos, BMW and Audi’s, how do these cars fair against an Expedition?
Understand: global warming as a "fixable" thing is A RIDICULOUS ILLUSION.
Read some natural history books and URGE OTHERS TO READ NATURAL HISTORY BOOKS. Common sense will out, truth will out. Geologists pretty much figure that the planet has been around for five-and-a-half billion years. A million years is a tiny, fragment of a drop in the bucket; 125,000 years is virtually nothing at all.
Indeed, 125,000 years ago is RECENT history, just a few moments ago, globally speaking. Evidence indicates that compared to today, sea levels were about 25 feet higher back then; 20,000 years ago -- even more miniscule a time period, a fraction of a second ago, geologically speaking -- sea levels were about 350 feet lower than they are now.
An informed person will understand that the pronoucement by anyone, "scientist" or especially politician, that technologies that have barely been in existence for 100 years (so ridiculously insignificant a period of time with regard to any intelligent assessment of earth sciences as to be absurd) are "killing" our planet, is laughable, should be hooted out of the room in derision. It is 100 percent absurd, and anyone with access to knowledge should know it NOW.
As long as people even begin to credit a shred of legitimacy to the idea that we can affect global climate changes -- this planet's global climate has been, and (God willing) will ALWAYS be changing -- then Liberals and environmtalists will call the shots. When people become educated enough to understand that they're clearly being flim-flammed and that the whole "issue" is bogus, then things will change.
Sad to say ... the Big Apple is way ahead of the Big Orange in this regard.
I guess no one sent them the memo on how making and producing the batteries for those ‘green’ cars causes more pollution than just leaving everything the hell alone.....damn, these people piss me off !!!!!
OK, I’m better now. ;-))
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