In a bid to raise funds for a $10 billion transportation bill in Washington State, legislators want to impose a $25 tax on all bicycles that cost more than $500. When local business owners and Seattle Bike Blog contacted Washington Rep. Ed Orcutt (R), a member of the State Transportation Committee, to question the tax, Orcutt claimed that cyclists are contributing nothing to use the roads and because of their high heart and respiration rate, they produce greater carbon emissions than motorists.

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Post tags: bicycle tax, business, carbon emissions, Carbon Tax, cars, CO2 emissions, cycling, global warming, green transportation, law, politics, public transportation, Rep. Ed Orcutt (R), small business, transportation tax, Washingon State

Not long after reports of China’s unearthly pollution dominated headline news, the Ministry of Finance has published plans to tax carbon emissions. The idea of a carbon tax is not new in China, but the secretary of tax administration Jia Chen has now drawn up a comprehensive document that promises, among other things, to promote sweeping environmental tax reform and include carbon dioxide emissions within its scope.

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Post tags: cap and trade, carbon capture, carbon emissions, Carbon Tax, china, Climate Change, emissions trading, Environment, environmental protection tax, global warming, ministry of finance, News, Pollution, smog, tax reform

This week, NASA climate scientist James Hansen described climate change as a “great moral issue” similar to the movement to end slavery. He linked the climate change debate with the 19th century struggle to abolish slavery from the United States with his claim that both have enormous consequences and are behind the “injustice of one generation to others.” He made the comments in the lead-up to an award he will receive next week for his contribution to science.

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Post tags: Carbon Tax, Climate Change, climate change compared to slavery, climate science, climate scientist, global warming, james hansen, nasa, slavery, species extinction

In a move to make Los Angeles coal-free by 2020, Mayor Antonio Villariagosa just announced a proposal for a monthly carbon surcharge on water and power bills. The funds will be used to transition the city towards renewable energy sources, and although no set amount was announced, it is expected that the smallest increase seen by 55% of the LA Department of Water and Power (DWP) consumers will be an additional $2.00 a month.

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Post tags: carbon emissions, Carbon Surcharge, Carbon Tarrif, Carbon Tax, City of LA Carbon, DWP, Inhabitat LA, LADWP, Los Angeles