BBQ Tax: To Help Fight Global Warming

This might be a parody story, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't stay fictitious for long. They can stab two hated activities at once here; using fuel and eating animals.

Belgium to impose tax on barbequing to fight global warming
12:27 03/ 04/ 2007
BRUSSELS, April 3 (RIA Novosti) -
The government of Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia, which has a population of about 4 million, has approved a tax on barbequing, local media reported. Experts said that between 50 and 100 grams of CO2, a so-called greenhouse gas, is emitted during barbequing. Beginning June 2007, residents of Wallonia will have to pay 20 euros for a grilling session.

The local authorities plan to monitor compliance with the new tax legislation from helicopters, whose thermal sensors will detect burning grills. Scientists believe CO2 emissions are a major cause of global warming. [HERE ENDS THE STORY]


If the "GW Crowd" have their way, this would be just the beginning. I'd already made up a list of 'ridiculous' measures to take to prevent Global Warming, and this story gave me a good reason to list some of them.

1. Mileage Taxes if you go over a mandated number of miles per week or per trip. It will be fun "saving up miles" to go and visit your grandparents.

2. Meat Tax. Bovine flatulance is killing the earth. But more tractors plowing more fields for vegetarians won't be a problem.

3. Product Distance Tax. Every product will be taxed on the distance it travels from production to consumer... transportation is killing the environment.

4. Odometer Reporting Service. The ORS will become as hated as the IRS, as citizens will have to report how far they've driven their cars. (same as Mileage Tax above, but I just thought of the ORS idea and am too lazy to rewrite that entry).

5. Internet Usage Tax. Yes, sending emails takes energy, which is mostly provided by coal power plants in the US. And sending attachments takes more energy than text only emails. I heard a while back that to send a 2Mb attachment in 2001 or 2002 took a pint of gasoline, but I haven't found that information again. Don't consider this to be accurate until I've dug up that old article. But the important thing is... how much energy could we save by limiting citizen's internet usage? "Net Neutrality" be damned.... the Internet Usage Tax is what will kill the internet (or at least kill people's ability to use it as much as they want to).

And on down the road....
6. Each car trip must have a "Driving Plan" filed with a government agency stating reason for trip, estimated time of departure and return, and the expected route. If you stray from the shortest route and get caught, you'll be in big trouble for emitting too much "carbon" into the air.