Hijexx wrote:
http://www.fcnp.com/519/peakoil.htm

Britian is looking at plans for rationing energy consumption. The personal market, where you can sell your unused energy units, is an interesting twist.

This is essentially the same as the system the US uses for pollution control in factories. Each factory is given carbon credits that are traded in a market, creating a direct financial incentive for pollution control measures.

England's system has an interesting wealth redistribution effect to it in that individuals that don't travel frequently could sell their carbon units for cash. This is slightly different then the effect on factories which all have a builtin need to pollute and can only avoid it by spending money on cleaning technology. Whereas the US system creates the incentive to build clean factories, this english version would pay people to not travel. It seems like a fuel tax would make more sense, but perhaps this is more politically palitable as for most people it will seem as if the government is giving them money rather then taking it away.

Decius wrote:

England's system has an interesting wealth redistribution effect to it in that individuals that don't travel frequently could sell their carbon units for cash. This is slightly different then the effect on factories which all have a builtin need to pollute and can only avoid it by spending money on cleaning technology. Whereas the US system creates the incentive to build clean factories, this english version would pay people to not travel. It seems like a fuel tax would make more sense, but perhaps this is more politically palitable as for most people it will seem as if the government is giving them money rather then taking it away.

No, it doesn't make more sense for one simple reason: it only hurts poor people. The UK system is more pallatable because it creates a financial incentive, not disincentive, in addition to directly assuaging the problem.

-janelane, considerately

Hijexx wrote:
http://www.fcnp.com/519/peakoil.htm

Britian is looking at plans for rationing energy consumption. The personal market, where you can sell your unused energy units, is an interesting twist.

...

Under the plan, every adult in the country would be given (for free) an annual “Personal Carbon Allowance” (PCA). This allowance would be measured in “carbon units.” One carbon unit would be equal to one kilogram of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere when the fuel is burned. Carbon units can be equated easily to gallons of gasoline, heating oil, diesel, or jet fuel, or to pounds of coal, BTUs of natural gas, or KWh of electricity. For example, one gallon of gas would be the equivalent of about nine carbon units. Thus, for every gallon of gas purchased, nine carbon units would be subtracted from your account.

...

The next most interesting feature of the plan is the government would also establish an electronic free market to buy and sell carbon units. Thus, those who have no need for their complete annual carbon allowance would be free to sell their excess units for cash at the market price. Those individuals who want and can afford more than their allocated share can buy as much as they want at the going price. Note that above-allocation consumers would not only have to pay for the energy, they would also have to pay for the right to buy the above-allocation energy. Non-residents visiting a country would not be given an annual allowance, but would have to buy the carbon units they use on the open market as they consume energy. Businesses that consume energy would buy their carbon units on the open market and would pass the cost on to the final consumer either money or in cases such as airplane rides as a PCA debit.

They really need to not worry about this so much and spend their money fixing their teeth. Where the hell is the dental industry in the UK - they all have bad teeth - why? I don't get it.