Support
Former US Vice President Al Gore strongly backed a carbon tax in his book, Earth in the Balance, but this became a political liability after the Republicans attacked him as a "dangerous fanatic". In 2000, when Gore ran for president, one commentator labeled Gore's carbon tax proposal a "central planning solution" harking back to "the New Deal politics of his father."
Former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker suggested (February 6, 2007) that "it would be wiser to impose a tax on oil, for example, than to wait for the market to drive up oil prices."
Climatologist James E. Hansen has argued in support of a carbon tax. A number of businesses and business leaders also support a carbon tax. These include:
- FedEx CEO Fred Smith;
- James Owens, CEO of Caterpillar;
- and Paul Anderson, CEO and Chairman of Duke Energy.
Monica Prasad, a Northwestern University sociologist, wrote about Denmark's carbon tax in the New York Times in 2008. In her view, the Danish carbon tax served as an example of how to reduce emissions in the US. Prasad argued, however, that a critical component for Denmark's success in reducing carbon emissions from 1990–2005 was that the tax revenues from the carbon tax were dedicated to subsidies for firms to use for alternative, environmentally cleaner sources of energy.
Read more about this topic: Carbon Tax
Famous quotes containing the word support:
“Have a sense of piety ever on your mind, and be ever mindful that this is subject to no change, but will last you as long as life and support you in death. Elevate your soul by prayer and by contemplation without mystical enthusiasm.”
—James Boswell (1740–1795)
“Because the young child feels with such intensity, he experiences sorrows that seem inconsolable and losses that feel unbearable. A precious toy gets broken or a good-bye cannot be endured. When this happens, words like “sad” or “disappointed” seem a travesty because they cannot possibly capture the enormity of the child’s loss. He needs a loving adult presence to support him in his pain but he does not want to be talked out of it.”
—Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)
“Criticism is a study by which men grow important and formidable at very small expense. The power of invention has been conferred by nature upon few, and the labour of learning those sciences which may, by mere labour, be obtained, is too great to be willingly endured; but every man can exert some judgment as he has upon the works of others; and he whom nature has made weak, and idleness keeps ignorant, may yet support his vanity by the name of critic.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)