Richie Rich

I did not think this question up on my own. This question was brought up on a episode of “Fully Charged”. In case you have not heard of or watched it you can follow this link.

There is no question that in our society that being wealthy comes with many privileges.

You live in the best neighborhoods. Have access to the best medical care and the best schools just to name a few.

There are others we don’t openly admit to like hiring the best lawyers that most likely will help you get away with many crimes a poor person would plead guilty to, or in the case of Elliot Spitzer, money allows you to buy some really hot tail.

Yet what most people would probably agree is that your wealth does not allow you to dump your garbage in my backyard. Unless you live out in the woods or desert somewhere the odds are pretty good that if you get caught dumping your garbage on my land or changing your cars oil and dumping it down the city sewer system you would be liable for damages if not criminal charges.

But, we do not only allow the wealthy to dump large amounts of waste but even the poorest among us as well. Why. Well for some reason we don’t consider the burning of fossil fuels as dumping waste. And while the average person driving a 4 cylinder Kia dumps less than the V-8 Chevy Suburban a V-12 Jaguar dumps even more.

If you had to pay for the amount of CO2 your dumped in the atmosphere like you have to pay for the amount of trash or waste water you dump in the sewer system would you drive a 12 MPG car or opt to buy the 30-40 MPG car? And yes, the wealthiest among us could drive the biggest gas burner ICE car and would have no problem paying the cost but isn’t that individual responsibility and paying for what you use?

The Carbon Tax was originally a “Conservative” idea. Because it is based on conservative values. You pay for your own actions. You don’t pass them off on to others.

And please don’t start with how electric vehicles use more resources than a gas car. How do you think they refine a gallon of gas? They use electricity. As much electricity as it takes to make 3 gallons of gas will power most electric vehicles further than the 3 gallons of gas will move your car.

Electric Cars are mostly charged at night. This is when most Utilities are running on Nuclear Power. Your utility uses their cheapest sources of energy first. See this video for an explanation. Although this is in the U.K. the principle is the same here in the U.S.

And finally. Are Electric Vehicles only for the rich? That’s a post for another day.