Matt comments on my mentioning that the State of California is sueing auto makers for emissions. He proposes that instead of the manufacturers, the individual motorists should pay for putting bad stuff into the air: ?Taxing at the pump hits the person who is causing the emissions and taxes them according to how much they put out.?

Maybe that’s what we need to do. The basic idea is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. The question is how to get the best results with the least effort and the greatest political viability. Where does one start? Power plants would be a good central point at which to sequester carbon dioxide emissions, much more so than individual cars. Electric cars would be great, but they haven’t really arrived despite some promising developments.

It’s really all about incentives. High gas prices and the perk of driving solo in the carpool lane have fueled (ahem) Hybrid vehicle popularity in California. Should we make gas prices even higher to drive more motorists inito hybrids? That would not be a very popular election platform. Going after auto makers may be a more viable approach. Fair? Maybe not. But it doesn’t need the popular vote.

Interesting web link: the EPA makes available fuel economy and emissions data for recent vehicles. This is another good place to check when considering buying a new or used car.

Reuters mentions a speech by Al Gore where he proposed to levy taxes on pollution caused by companies rather than on the wages they pay their employees. The full text of his speech at NYU is also available.

Meanwhile, the state of California sues the world’s six largest auto makers for damages caused by global warming.

While stuff like this may seem far-fetched, it actually makes sense in a way. It goes against the notion that you can just dump your exhaust into the atmosphere and watch it waft away to go bother someone else. We pay, sometimes a lot, to have our waste water treated, and our solid waste hauled away and neatly put all in the same place where it can someday be a golf course. Meanwhile, we are all blowing smoke into the air without any cost or personal consequences. On what planet is that OK?