Inspired by watching this...eye-opening documentary this morning. I found it so shocking (although on further consideration some of its dire claims are of questionable validity if taken as presented) I thought roughly: "rationing! We're at war and it's our only hope to prevent utter ecological apocalypse!" Then I remembered marketable pollution permits from my third year uni environmental economics module and cooked up this petite theory/model.


Tradeable Eco Credits.

A set amount of Credits are allocated for the country by the government for the month – few enough to enable sustainability. Every adult citizen is issued with the same weekly amount/share. Each time a purchase is made in one of the applicable categories, their balance of credits is reduced by an amount befitting the type and magnitude of the purchase (it's Eco footprint). They can sell up to half of their credits each week, along with any credits "carried over" from a previous period – to the "Reservoir" and these can be purchased from the "Reservoir" by those with the cash and inclination, subject to certain restrictions, enabling them to "pollute" above and beyond their initial Citizen's allotment. Therefore some significant degree of consumer liberty is preserved, whilst achieving sustainability and increasing equality as larger "polluters" pay twice – once for the good/service and again for the Eco credit enabling them to purchase it.

The planet is saved and we all live happily ever after : D

Any good?

I’m pretty sure that’s called Carbon Trading.


______________________________________
Sent to somewhere using a shitty app. Sorry for the tags and/or dupe posts.

Kinda, except carbon trading is not done on the level of individual consumers as this is, and this has scope to incorporate other environmental "bads" than carbon (eg, deforestation, methane etc).

My wife and I would be stinking rich under such a plan. That’s why it will never happen. The powers that be can’t have normal people profiting from not paying taxes on carbon.

RS

If your wife and you don't purchase or consume anything which has an ecological footprint then you ain't normal, for America at any rate.

It’s not that we don’t use any carbon based stuff, but rather we use so much less than average Americans it isn’t funny. If there were profit in it we could cover our 60 acres of southern exposure in solar panels, and have a steady income. With current below-market-value “net metering” in Arkansas amounts to giving away power.

RS