Most Stupid Idea Ever?


Is this the most stupid idea ever?

edie.net writes that farmers in Estonia are to pay green taxes on greenhouse gasses emitted by cows.

I didn’t quite believe it as first either, and so I spent a couple of minutes with Google to confirm that it is indeed true. I also notice that a similar scheme was mooted in New Zealand, but protests killed the idea of pretty quickly.

This particular news has prompted one of those rare occasions where I write on the Red side - what exactly would a cow tax achieve? Are there alternatives to cows? Are there more efficient cows which may be used to reduce emissions? Or are we just supposed to give up on diary products for good?

Whatever next?

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May 13th, 2008
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Reader Comments

Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Meryn Stol
Posted on:
May 13, 2008 at 4:30 pm

I don’t think this is about the CO2 cows exhale, but the methane.

That methane might be captured and put to good use. Hence the tax to stimulate this.

Read more about it here:

http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2002/03/032502t_cowpower.jhtml

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
ClimateHeretic
Posted on:
May 13, 2008 at 5:53 pm

Yes it is the “Greenhouse Ass Emissions” that are the subject, Methane emissions need to be taxed ASAP. Why? Because the concentration in the atmosphere is stable.

Luckily the shortage of feedstock for cattle due to bio-fuels has been takign care of that problem for us as ranchers are dramatically reducing herd sizes due to input costs.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Edouard
Posted on:
May 13, 2008 at 10:39 pm

Meryn (oh, you here ! :) ) is right, cow produce methane, which is more potent than carbon dioxide.

A tax on cows, I think it is preposterous, and I am being polite. I mean, there are other ways to decrease the GHG emissions from agriculture…

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Adrian
Posted on:
May 14, 2008 at 9:05 pm

Hey! I can’t believe their holding them responsible for their cows! What a joke! I was browsing through a bunch of green websites and blogs and I came across yours and found it very interesting. There are a bunch of others I like too, like the daily green, ecorazzi and earthlab.com. I especially like EarthLab.com’s carbon calculator (http://www.earthlab.com/signupprofile/). I find it really easy to use (it doesn’t make me feel guilty after I take it). Are there any others you would recommend? Can you drop me a link to your favorites (let me know if they are the same as mine).

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
MPS
Posted on:
May 14, 2008 at 10:14 pm

Oh, the proposal get even crazier then a tax on cattle. Some have suggested charging a fee for a permit to use a charcoal grill. Some have suggested that there be a tax on breathing. Some of the suggestions out there are insane.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
TalkClimateChange - » Are We Unfair to Bio-fuels?
Posted on:
May 19, 2008 at 3:22 pm

[…] I’m also guilty of criticising a ‘cow tax’ earlier this week (see: Most Stupid Idea Ever?) in ignorance of a few facts on the environmental impacts of massive increases in meat […]

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Don’t Blame Bio-fuels For Everything : EcoWorldly
Posted on:
May 22, 2008 at 6:00 am

[…] difference to the environment, and most recently I described an environmental tax levied on cows as the most stupid idea ever. So it is maybe time to examine these issues in a more positive light – negativity is, after […]