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Carbon Tax Comes To The U.S.

Posted by: Irvin Dawid
Thanks to: Richard Freehling
16 November 2006 - 7:00am

The City of Boulder, Colorado makes history by approving the nation's first carbon tax.

Boulder, Colo., will charge residents and businesses the carbon tax based on how much electricity they use. Most electricity in Boulder is generated at plants that use coal, which produces more of the main greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, than natural gas or oil....Residents that choose to purchase wind power will not be assessed the tax."

"The Boulder tax will raise average home bills $1.33 per month and businesses will pay an extra $3.80 per month, according to the town. The tax will generate about $1 million for the city annually. Utility Xcel Energy will collect the tax."

"The money will fund energy audits for homes and businesses and visits by energy experts to advise homeowners how to save energy through means such as energy efficient lighting and insulation."

Sarah Van Pelt, Boulder's environmental sustainability coordinator, said "electricity customers, many of whom live in older, drafty homes, would eventually save money through the efficiency adjustments."

"We really didn't think of the tax as a stick approach," she said.

Full Story: Carbon tax takes hold in Colorado town - Voters approve country's first tax to fight global warming, which will raise average home bills $1.33 per month
Source: Reuters via CNN Money.com, November 9, 2006
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New York Times reports on passage of carbon tax

Submitted by Irvin Dawid on Sat, 11/18/2006 - 16:52.

"City Approves ‘Carbon Tax’ in Effort to Reduce Gas Emissions"
By KATIE KELLEY
Published: November 18, 2006

"BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 14 — Voters in this liberal college town have approved what environmentalists say may be the nation’s first “carbon tax,” intended to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases....."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/us/18carbon.html?th&emc=th

But everyone should take note, while there is much to celebrate that the US finally has a carbon tax in one liberal town, this tax is not applied to gasoline or diesel fuel. In the Bay Area, greenhouse gas emissions from power plants are a mere 7.2% of total emissions, while transportation accounts for >50%!

source: "Source Inventory of Bay Area Greenhouse Gas Emissions"
http://www.baaqmd.gov/pln/ghg_emission_inventory.pdf

Irvin Dawid, Palo Alto, CA

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