Using Air Pollution Fees to Reduce Pollution & Reduce Income Taxes |
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August 12, 2007
Governments of some European countries don't just set legal limits on the release of pollution into the air, they also make polluters pay for pollution damage and use the revenue to reduce everybody's income taxes. A majority of adult Americans now favor similar pollution fees and income tax reductions.
Air pollution damage to people, crops and wildlife in the USA totals tens of billions of dollars each year. An average American's body contains lead, mercury, PCBs, and more than 100 other toxic pollutants, many of which originated from "legal" but unsafe emissions into the air. Emissions from coal burning electric power plants are a dominant cause of smog, deadly soot, global warming, pollution in our National Parks, polluted oceans, polluted estuaries, and toxic contamination of fish. See: Minnesota estimates the Environmental Costs of Electricity.
In some countries, legal limits have been helpful in reducing pollution of air, soil and water. Unfortunately, pollution levels that are legal are often dangerous to the health of people, plants, and livestock. Some pollutants, such as lead and mercury, are dangerous at any level in the human body. No legal limits have been established for most of the 75,000 man-made chemicals. Legal pollution limits do not provide any economic incentive to reduce pollution emissions below the legal limits. In the USA, even the most basic toxicity testing results cannot be found in the public record for nearly 75% of the top-volume chemicals in commercial use. See "Toxic Ignorance".
While nobody claims responsibility for the increased odds of getting cancer, a wide variety of pollutants from many sources have substantially increased our odds of getting cancer. Twenty years ago, the American Cancer Society said that 1 out of 4 Americans would get cancer. Today, American Cancer Society says the probability has risen to 1 out of 3. Will the odds progress to 1 out of 2, or even 1 out of 1, before we require all polluters to pay for the damage being done?
Many researchers say that pollution is a frequent cause of cancer. While the cure rate remains static at about 50%, we can reduce the frequency of cancer by reducing pollution.
Smog over West Coast of Lake Michigan
Viewed from north at 30,000 feet. May 26, 1998
Note: To enlarge the image, click on it.
A blanket of small particles covers most of the earth all of the time. As the photo above illustrates, the particles can reflect enough sunlight to prevent a clear view of the ground from aircraft.
Microscopic particles released by fuel combustion, volcanoes and other sources can remain airborne for many days and travel thousands of miles. While the dust particles help to make sunsets more spectacular, they cause many health problems.
Particles small enough to be invisible to the naked eye are the ones most likely to get deep into your lungs. On average, non-toxic particles stay deep in your lungs for more than a month before being removed by your immune system. Toxic particles often cripple and sometimes kill macrophages, the micro-soldiers of the immune system, that are normally able to relentlessly hunt and kill cancer cells).
Permanent lung damage is usually discovered only after people have permanently lost more than half of their lung capacity. The American Lung Association and other respected groups say that legal air pollution is presently killing about 64,000 Americans each year and damaging the health of nearly every living thing.
A recent study suggests that airborne particles in Washington, D.C. cause enough damage to reduce life expectancy by about one year. Toxic particles have become a health hazard throughout the USA. To reduce exposure to toxic particles you can provide clean fresh air mechanically for your home and other buildings through an electronic air cleaner and activated carbon filter.
Many pollutants from the air get into streams, lakes, groundwater, and oceans and then become reconcentrated in the food chain on their way to you.
Poisoned streams — The Mineral Policy Center has released a new book, "Golden Dreams, Poisoned Streams", chronicling "the pervasive and ongoing destruction of U.S. water resources caused by modern hardrock-mining". According to the book, mining operations in the U.S. benefit from a 125-year old law containing no environmental provisions. The center estimates taxpayers bear an estimated $32 billion to $72 billion in cleanup costs for 557,000 abandoned mine sites alone. For a copy of the book, call (202) 887-1872.
Pollution fees on all sources of air pollution would help provide economic incentives to reduce emissions and to use non-toxic alternatives.
Air pollution fees on fuels would provide strong economic incentives to reduce fuel consumption by using fuels more efficiently. This will help to delay the inevitable depletion of fossil fuels. Improved energy efficiency will also reduce our foreign trade deficit and our dangerous dependency on foreign energy sources.
Please support enactment of air pollution fees. The life and earth you protect are your own.
Whereas victims deserve compensation for pollution that damages health and/or property.
Whereas air pollution does not stop at property lines.
Whereas pollution of the air damages everyone and contributes to pollution of food and water.
Whereas the amount of damage done by air pollution to the population of our nation is much easier to determine than the damage to any single individual.
Whereas pollution fees are already used successfully in several European countries to reduce pollution and reduce income taxes.
Whereas pollution fees will provide economic incentives to reduce pollution and thereby help to protect the health and productivity of people, plants and livestock.
Whereas the proposed air pollution fees = proposed reduction of income taxes, there will not be a drain on our nation's economy.
Now therefore, an air pollution fee is proposed to collect money in an amount at least equal to the costs of damage done by air pollution, including damage to humans, plants, animals, and structures. Revenue from pollution fees shall be used to reduce personal income taxes in the USA.
