It's hard to change habits...

....when the options are limited.

Capitalism keeps putting more and more money into fewer and fewer corporate hands, and these hands are in no rush to offer options. The simple economics is to run the capital equipment as long as they can to help maximize returns. And with a complicit government helping them along the way, change can only come from below.

But when the system tie our hands to effect change -- much like the political system is completely screwed by any objective and rational account, the tragedy of the commons occurs.

I've been subsistence gardening, recycling and composting since 1974; I've planted over a 1/4 million trees; I built an environmentally friendly home (within my fiscal constraints); yet I am still forced to drive 25,000 kms a year.

I suspect I am on the bad side of things, but what can you do??

This Is Precisely Why ....

All of the whining about gas prices and now, the HST, fall on deaf government ears.
People cry poverty yet they keep consuming.
Do your really need buy a "Timmies" coffee?
The ferry to and from Vancouver is full, with wait times.
The RVs and SUVs continue to belch along.
It's true though, the province's love affair with bridges and roads is obscene. They should be building light-rail transit and trams.

The Carbon Tax is a gas tax.............

............and another tax on the poor!

Despite the many hosannas sung by TransLink and the government, public transit is a disgrace. Despite a now over $8 billion spent on SkyTrain and the RAV/Canada Line there has been no noticeable shift from car to transit!

We are building massive new highways and bridges to cope with the extra traffic, yet nothing is contributed to alternatives.

Rubber and asphalt is the heart beat of BC and the economy and no one, including the NDP, has the balls to change it.

if only it were true

"Today, the province raised gasoline prices to 4.45 cents per litre, an increase of just over a cent."

During the "Debate" about the Canada Line.....

....it was mentioned that some 400 KM of light rail could have been built with the same money, including a rail link to Whistler in time for 2010 Games. The latter would have saved nearly all the cash dumped into the S2S "improvement", and could have extended that 400 KM figure to 800 KM, including links all the way up the Fraser Valley.

Cudda, Wudda, Shudda...........

The Backfire Tax

Every time we get our carbon tax rebate, we go for a family drive!
The carbon tax rebate is just too retarded!
Use the carbon tax money to buy wind turbines, tidal generators, harness hot air coming out of Victoria!

prove it

“… without the province's "groundbreaking carbon tax," consumption rates would be even higher.”

Really? Where’s Sightline’s evidence to support this statement? The only way this claim could be substantiated would be if the price of gasoline didn’t drop 33% between 08 and 09. This is pure pro-carbon-tax hype.

Most people were shocked by the huge per litre increases when crude prices skyrocketed. Although I haven’t seen any studies to prove it, in Victoria there was a noticeable change in driving habits … traffic volume appeared to drop and what was on the road seemed less aggressive. However, once the prices started downward it was business as usual.

In the not too distant

In the not too distant future our whole corporate/governmentel ponsi-economic system will melt down. Bold-faced political/corporate liars, as we have here in Canada (it's also a world-wide phenomena) will no longer going to be believed by the great unwashed. In 30 to 50 years people will look back to this era and think that we were completly mad.

Carbon tax too susceptible to manipulation by political world

Here we still have environmentalists talking about how great our carbon tax is, only because it is the first or one of the first in North America. To make matters worse, we in Canada have to listen an "American" group, the SightLine Institute, pontificate about our situation here in BC.

I suppose we should be flattered that they pay us any attention. But any support for a questionable tax that plays with our provincial politics as well, is questionable in itself.

Sightline and this article itself even point out how useless the carbon tax is, as the Gov't has not even invested any of it in desperately needed transit.

Any taxes invested in Transit would be a "true" Carbon Tax, but no, we have to pretend the name only BC Carbon Tax is what we need.

Peak Oil

Many believable predictions, including those of Jeff Rubin (former head of Capital Markets for CIBC), argue that peak oil (the brief period when global oil production reaches its highest level) combined with increased demand for petroleum throughout the developing world will drive energy prices MUCH higher in the not to distant future.

Evidence demonstrates fairly convincingly that as a culture we are too stupid to make necessary preparations for such an event ahead of time. Perhaps if each time an individual were to add a ton of carbon to the atmosphere he would have a brick dropped on his foot, a few of us would wake up.

Read Bill McKibbon's EAARTH (not a typo) for another shocking but likely to be mostly ignored wake-up call.

questions

Is the fuel used in all those logging trucks subject to the carbon tax? Could the influx of residents to B.C. have anything to do with that? ("For the second consecutive quarter, British Columbia was Canada’s leader in proportional population growth. From October to December 2009, B.C.’s population grew by nearly 14,300 people, including more than 9,200 immigrants, and now totals " StatsCanada) Is it possible that change is taking place with carbon use but it is masked by other factors? Would it be a solution if all the individual users modified their use of greenhouse gas producing products but industry kept on the same unbridled track?

The carbon tax is not a

The carbon tax is not a pro-environmental tax. It is just a tax. This is shown by the fact that it is a Minister of Finance that is commenting on this and not the Minister of climate action.

People, as is shown here, do not drive less. The just pay more. People drive because they have to due to time constraints of their busy lives and very little is within walking distance (unless you have a fair amount of free time). They are not driving around for leisure.

The say that our low gas prices are to blame. I love how they spin that prices for fuel have diminished year over year. They haven't. They have increased. Today's prices are higher than every other year before, except the one time peak.

I really don't mind a carbon tax if it increases public transport, subsidizes electric vehicles and help houses generate their own power. I would be all for it.

But it doesn't. It is just money.
$727 million that really could have changed the environment

What low gas prices?

Not in BC

Sure, tax people into good behaviour....

Robyn Smith cripples her argument by falling into the pit of convoluted logic when it comes to coercing drivers into abandoning cars in BC. No tax will persuade drivers to switch from cars to public transit or bicycles. Any study will show that drivers value the freedom and convenience of the car and will pay for it. Hence, all these carbon taxes on fuel will only increase the cost of living here.

If Smith thinks public transit works in Vancouver, then she ought to try using it during our miserable autumns and winters. Cars are a necessary part of our daily commute. If you simply observer the Port Mann bridge traffic congestion you can understand why upgrades were needed. Those on the far left think that if they make like harder for drivers, they will surrender there cars. All it does is create more congestion and pollution.

Will the tiny minority of bicyclists and public transit radicals stop inflicting traffic hell on the majority of us car owners?

A little comparison.......

I just did a quick search at gas buddy.com......

Seattle price today: $2.68-$2.75

Vancouver today: $4.06-$4.33

And the people who authored this report (in Seattle no less!) say we have cheap gas in BC? Sheeeeeese.

Carbon Tax goes up a cent or two as HST takes affect

No kidding the tax wasn't going to help the environment nor will the HST do what it is said it is intended to do which is to stimulate energy consumption through increased business activity. You can't have it both ways one minuite government is adding taxes to discourage activity and the next minuite looking to add significant taxes to stimuilate energy consumption.
The province's carbon tax on gasoline and other fuels also goes up more than one cent per litre, meaning higher prices at the pump, at home and everywhere.

Everything that consumers purchase, from soup to nuts, is transported and businesses will have to pass cost increase on to the taxpayer.

The carbon tax on gasoline goes up 1.12 cents, to 4.45 cents per litre. The carbon tax on diesel fuel increases 1.27 cents, to 5.11 cents a litre.

Natural gas and other fuels like propane, kerosene and home heating oil are also subject to carbon tax increases Thursday.

The B.C. government says putting a price on emissions will encourage people to reduce their use of fossil fuels.
There is no evidence of that happening and gasoline consumption is drastically up.

Lower fuel prices globally and a rise in economic activity before the 2010 Winter Olympics are the main reasons for the increase, according Sightline's report.

B.C.'s carbon tax will go up to more than six cents on a litre of gasoline in July 2011 and to more than seven cents a litre in July 2012.

What a bunch of crap!

Not one single thing that these bozos have done over the past 9 years has worked out for us the way they have "promised" it would. The "brightest and the best". Best "economic fiscal managers". If they are, I am terrifed for our future.

See Ian Austin's article on the Province today? His hypothetical person simply going to work is spending $1.91 more today to do that, than yesterday. Not too bad, right? Except that he does that for about 260 days. Grand total: $496.60.

Nope, the HST isn't going to hurt at all. Get rid of these losers now before they do more permanent damage!

Bobby Peru

When gas increased to more than $1.50/litre last year, consumption actually decreased - which means that people drove less. Do you mean to tell me they stayed home?

And if you think that a tax of "significant" proportions won't stop people from driving, wait until that is combined with other taxes (HST), AND in concert with decreasing net wages (Collin Hansen admitted that 1-in-4 families in BC lives below poverty line).

All in all, for a society that relies on consumerism for a major portion of the GDP, giving people LESS to spend isn't going to generate the hundreds of thousand of jobs Gordo has promised.

The carbon tax is just

The carbon tax is just another 'regressive' tax/tax shift. Of course it will work when the price of gas gets high enough. However, since driving is an integral part of how our economy functions it seems foolish to reduce the number of cars on the road by simply increasing the number of people who can not afford to drive.
The only way to address this is to legislate an end to fossil fueled vehicles. There is no way the oil/car companies are going to change anything unless forced to. As individuals we will drive what is available.
We could argue that if we all pull together we can force the needed changes from these companies. So, that is what we have gov't for; to force this on our behalf.
If car/oil corporations do not care to play in the BC market we could use the carbon tax to build our own publicly owned car manufacturer [once we get rid of free enterprise's [nafta wto etc] rules that restrict our self determination].
I think that BCers would be happy to invest in BC if investments were sensible. We need no more arguments that anything we want to do to enhance life is going to dampen foreign investment. Foreign investors can go to hell if they don't want invest in a quality living environment.

gas hogs

First of all I have no intention of changing my driving habits. I have a pickup a Chev Silverado to be exact with a V8. It is comfortable and it rides
nice. I have tried the bus once. The problem is I
can't go where I want, or turn my truck radio up,
and so on. Rapid transit, its slower than the second coming of you know who. No gas is not cheap, and the people are not responding to the BC
Governments carbon tax, except to keep on driving,
Governments have no business in the bedrooms of the
nation, or the interior cab of my vehicle with their tax hand out.

traffic congestion

"Will the tiny minority of bicyclists and public transit radicals stop inflicting traffic hell on the majority of us car owners?"

Traffic hell is entirely a function of too many people relying on single occupant vehicles and traffic accidents. Blaming it on bikes or transit only points to either a desire to deflect blame from the appropriate segment of the travelling public, or an incomplete understanding of the realities of road use.

Don't worry about the damned price of gas.

Keep the population around where it is now and you'll do more for the environment than any carbon tax.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, as Canadians we have a much lower environmental impact because of the large surface area of the country and it's low population density. Even though we may produce more CO2 per capita than almost all other countries the global impact of that consumption is significantly less than those with lower per capita CO2 production.

Implementing a carbon tax is like trying to chop down a tree with the blunt side of an axe. You'll get the job done eventually as long as it's not a fast growing tree but the end result will be messy.

That's not to say we can't make improvements in energy management but without population control it becomes meaningless.

So many good ideas...

But so many unco-operative people.
Myworld2 suggests:
"We could argue that if we all pull together we can force the needed changes from these companies. So, that is what we have gov't for; to force this on our behalf."
Myworld2 and others seem to think that "if we all pull together" we can solve our planetary problems. But, you know how much support you have in BC? Perhaps 1/10th of 1%. On the other hand, people like Damngrumpy, with his comfortable V/8 pickup (which he probably rarely uses as a pickup) has a backing of more than 50% of our driving population (based on recent pickup sales figures). I'm sorry, Myworld2, but until the price of gas reaches triple what it is now you are never going to win this war. There are far too many grumpies in BC.

Rear View Window

The radicals who have taken over city hall would love to push cars off the road. But the reality is that as the Lower Mainland economy grows more cars and trucks will be on the road. Hence, we will need more roads. Raising fuel and road taxes, perversely not building more roads or erecting anti-car barriers will only create more pollution, waste money and time.

Cars, public transit and bicyles need to grow together in a proportion that makes sense for economic growth. Cyclists have to live with the fact that most of the population wants to be in cars. Just look at the terrible conditions for riding a bicycle or taking public transit in Vancouver.

Ironically, Hong Kong is a perfect example of ideally developed and run public transit systems in a city that is far from being "the greenest city in the world." High population densities and a city that is far wealthier than Vancouver drive many located underground stations making it far more convenient to use than cars. Vancouver's topography is not ideal for mass transit.

And have you realized how dangerous it is to drive in Vancouver? I would rather kill ten killer whales than be struck by a car and end up eating out of a straw for the rest of my life.

So the politicians in power should just look at all the cars out there and stop trying to impose their utopian dreams on us. Just build more roads (and bike lanes, too) for the majority of us people who need to drive.

Canada's impact on the environment...

"The environmental crises currently gripping the planet are the corollary of excessive human consumption of natural resources," quoting Professor Bradshaw from the University of Adelaide.

"There is considerable and mounting evidence that elevated degradation and loss of habitats and species are compromising ecosystems that sustain the quality of life for billions of people worldwide."

Professor Bradshaw said these indices were robust and comprehensive and, unlike existing rankings, deliberately avoided including human health and economic data - measuring environmental impact only.

The study, in collaboration with the National University of Singapore and Princeton University, found that the total wealth of a country (measured by gross national income) was the most important driver of environmental impact.

"We correlated rankings against three socio-economic variables (human population size, gross national income and governance quality) and found that total wealth was the most important explanatory variable - the richer a country, the greater its average environmental impact," Professor Bradshaw said.

There was no evidence to support the popular idea that environmental degradation plateaus or declines past a certain threshold of per capital wealth (known as the Kuznets curve hypothesis).

"There is a theory that as wealth increases, nations have more access to clean technology and become more environmentally aware so that the environmental impact starts to decline. This wasn't supported,"

it's a tad late

“…the rest of the population can finally breathe a sigh of relief and flourish to achieve its true potential in natural harmony with themselves on a clean and flourishing planet.”

Unfortunately, that “specific segment of the population” is not relatively small; it includes everyone who relies on that segment’s well-being for survival. If we were able to get rid of everyone on soleprobe’s hit list about the only ones remaining would be a scattering of indigineous populations that haven’t succumbed to capitalism and technological advances.

Like snert says,” There won't be anyone left if you get rid of those causing the problems.”

In any event, rationalizing population control and convincing the masses, at this point on exponential human growth curve, won’t work: global population growth is logrithmic and we are in the vertical part of the growth curve. It’s too late.

Hoping that natural die-back will somehow save our bacon avoids the fact that, based on current levels of resource extraction, use and depletion, we have already overshot the planets carrying capacity.

ORGANIC ETHANOL

I PRESENTED AN IDEA TO THE PROV. AND FED. GOVERNMENTS WITH A SOLUTION TO BECOMING OIL FREE AND CREATING A MILLION JOBS ACROSS CANADA.

THE REPLY WAS CANADA IS NOT READY YET.

IF CANADA WANTS TO BE READY I KNOW WE ALL HAVE TO GET OUT AND VOTE.

IF THE PARTY SYSTEM IS NOT WORKING THEN HIRE PEOPLE INTO THESE POSITIONS WITH PROPER SKILL, KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY TO MONEY MANAGE OUR PROVINCES AND COUNTRY.

IF THEY ARE NOT WORKING OUT THEN FIRE EM.

WE CAN NOT EVEN RECALL A POLITICIAN, OR FIRE THEM FOR CORRUPTION.

SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS.

TIME WE TOOK A HARD LOOK AT WERE WE ARE GOING AND WERE WE MAY END UP IF WE DO NOT GET OFF ARE DUFFS.

Ontario's Carbon Tax

The HST in Ontario is adding 8% on to the price of gas in that province.
This is a big jump in tax on gas -- much bigger and done much more quickly than B.C.'s much ballyhooed carbon tax.
In B.C. the HST is not increasing the price of gas. Gas is exempt.
Bicycles are up 7% in price in BC though. Only so much can be exempt from the HST and our government chose gas over bikes.

Seniors for Affordable Mobility

With all the taxes piled onto gas, we seniors on fixed incomes, from rural areas, without access to public transit, should band together and start a group of the above name, and ask for tax rebates.
Who can expect a person of 70 to walk 10 km up and down hills to the nearest grocery store? And pack bags full of stuff back another ten?
Contact me if interested.

Another thought for cause of increase in consumption

As stated by someone above, the Province is growing in populaton rapidly, and thus the gas consumption is going up. Probably not due to more driving/capita.

I think if we want less consumption we should seriously consider the value of less immigration. The political claptrap about more people meaning more wealth is outdated. More people means fewer resources per capaita. We all drink water, and eat. Contrary to popular belief, Canada even now is not food self sufficient.
Physically, we could cut down the consumption by legislating lower immigrant numbers. Politically, we won't do it as long as immigrants vote. (by the way I was an immigrant kid too, so I can say this).

just build more roads

"Just build more roads "

Where? The City of Vancouver would have to start buying up property to widen existing roads. There's enough roads, just too many people driving by themselves. That's the whole issue in a nutshell.

It's all about the price of fuel

Transit currently costs more on the Lower Mainland than operating a vehicle and it's nowhere near as convenient as it must be to compete. Alas, we just don't have the population to support the required efficiency. What we have is as good as it gets - unless a federal decision is made to tax fuel at the well head, as it should be. Once fuel reaches a certain price, people will stop driving, but we're just not there yet.

Peak oil

Don't worry, the petroleum problem will solve itself. In fact it already has started, although it may get messier before it gets better. As we continue to extract more petroleum, the fuel remaining in the ground is declining, harder and more expensive to extract. We will run out or it will be too expensive to extract. Look at what we are now extracting, tar sands that is incredibly dirty and expensive and coal bed methane which is very dirty and expensive. We must find alternate energy sources and methods for living our lives. We will have no choice.

A solution is the Ultralight Electric Vehicle

A solution to the City Transportation problem is the use of the Ultralight Electric Vehicle.

With 4 wheel motors, and all composite construction. No steering wheel. Drive-by-Wire & Steer-by-Wire. Think F-16 cockpit. Weight 200 kg. For one or two persons and a small amount of Cargo. Acceleration 0-60 kmh in 3 secs. Zero Turning Radius by reversing the left & right side motors.

Top speed 60 kmh. 25 km per kwh. 4 kwh Battery Pack for 100 km range. 3 hr recharge off of any standard 120vac outlet. 250 km travel on $1 worth of Electricity. Since battery packs are small – the battery shortage problem of full size EV’s is eliminated.

Lightweight, small footprint, extreme maneuverability means much higher traffic densities are possible. Pretty much immune to accidents involving similar vehicles. They bounce off of each other. If dead-on-road, grab it with one hand and pull it off the road. With regenerative braking – automatically is 4 wheels anti-lock – since wheel motors produce no braking when not turning. Almost Zero automobile fatalities – as long at the transportation system is separated from the big fuel guzzling Steel Tankmobiles. Due to their lightweight & true all wheel drive – much more agile in snow or on ice than a standard 4x4 City Vehicle. Would be agile & powerful enough to drive up a stairwell.

Use an alternative transportation network for these vehicles along with Bicycles, E-Bikes and E-Trikes. Top speed limited to 60 kwh. No left turns needed. Cheap lightweight steel pre-fabricated steel overpasses / off ramps can be built - since the vehicles are all light and have limited top speed.

The avg City Driving speed is 30 kmh. In the downtown core it is more like 10 kmh. Typically the stupidity of modern personal vehicle transportation system means vehicles go either Very Slow or Very Fast. I.e. at their most inefficient. The Prius gets 5.9 km per kwh at 8 km/hr & 113 km/hr. At 40 kmh it gets 11.6 km per kwh. All modern City Roadways do is create is bottlenecks, vehicles rush from traffic jam to traffic jam. Much more efficient to have a steady slower rate of traffic flow – no traffic jams. Like trying to push 100 litres per minute into a pipe that can only discharge 20 litres per minute. An exercise in futility.

The Ultralight Electric Vehicle cont'd

Leave the regular Roadways to Trucks, Taxis, Buses and Steel Tankmobiles – for moving heavy loads or more than two persons per vehicle.

These types of vehicles have very little to break down. Motor controllers – plug in, plug out. Wheel motors – cheap & easy to replace and could last for 30 yrs or more. Battery pack plug in. Vehicle life – easily 40 yrs. Cost in mass production – about $5k each. With City Transit Buses costing upwards of $3k per yr per passenger – it would be cheaper to GIVE these vehicles to people. Insurance costs – tiny compared to the Steel Tankmobile. Very hard to damage – very hard to damage another vehicle – cheap to replace. And would get a person from point A to point B much faster than any other mode of City Transport. And automated travel is quite possible. And unlike the City Bus you could still store some supplies like a half dozen bags of groceries in the vehicle

Fund Transit

It is pretty obvious that the carbon tax needs to keep increasing and that the funds should be used to improve transit, cycling and other transportation options. With TransLink short of funds for expansion, this is such an obvious solution.

"rac" right! Fund Transit with carbon tax

This country was built with rail lines and almost 150 years later, it is rail in its many forms that could save us from expensive roads and their inherent cars, trucks and other rubber tired inefficient vehicles.

zalm

The "crankypants" of this country/province would doubtless not enjoy their guzzlers quite so much, if the current subsidies you mentioned ("free" roads, accident-caused medical costs, policing, air quality degradation, etc) were tacked directly onto fuel prices.

Doubtless, RickW

By my calculations, just the numbers I mentioned (not including city taxes going to roads) would add another $1.45 onto each litre of gas. I dunno how you'd feel about paying $2.60 a litre, but I bet I know how damngrumpy would feel. And those lines at the border would get ever longer.

Of course, as a multi-modal user in the Big Smoke (roughly equal amounts of bike, bus, walking and car use) I'd be willing to share some of damn-grumpy's pain. Perhaps 10% of it.

Whaddaya think, damngrumpy? $1.30 in additional taxes OK for you? $2.45 a litre gas? That would still make it cheap compared to much of the rest of the world (except maybe Venezuela and Iran where it's even more heavily subsidized than it is here), and less than the depreciation on your new vehicle.

And, besides, you now get the moral high ground over me....sort of...