Comments for FeeBates: The French Path to Intelligent Energy at http://www.ecogeek.org , comment 1 to 6 out of 6 comments http://www.ecogeek.org Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:28:30 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.ecogeek.org/automobiles/1248#comment-16286 lee: hop on a bus. you talk like riding your single-passenger car into work is a basic RIGHT, and not a LUXURY. Besides the beauty of a perfect feebate is that it preserves consumer choice. You could buy a light, fuel-efficient car and get a rebate. Feebates appropriately tax unnecessarily heavy cars, which have consequences for public health. Therefore, it is a good thing the government is finally doing something. You and everybody else should have to pay for the pollutants you emit into the air - and for driving unnecessarily energy-intensive cars. It's about time the government deals with free-loaders. You should be complaining that the government didn't do this sooner, allowed suburbia to get so out of hand, and let the auto industry get away with selling things like Hummers. - Stephanie Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:12:26 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/automobiles/1248#comment-8875 wow thats great, if they do this in the Uk ( they wont) i will have to pay £1500 a year car insurance £200 tax £200 per month petrol (70% of that is tax) £3700 just for getting to and from work, great - lee Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:15:08 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/automobiles/1248#comment-8462 I really like that idea. Even fuel-efficient older vehicles are big NOx/SOx/CO/particulate emitters. It's good to get them off the road ASAP. - PeakVT Sun, 30 Dec 2007 19:03:53 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/automobiles/1248#comment-8451 I'm studying Environmental Studies with a Policy concentration at college right now, and this is exactly the kind of thing I want to dream up. What a good idea! I'm even envious that I didn't think of it myself. Of course this tax isn't enough. However, it's a good idea. There won't be a magic bullet to the environmental and economic crises that we face, it's reached through many good ideas like this coalescing into a movement. People are forced to start thinking more and more about the environment when they realize that they pay extra for environmental inefficiencies. The death of cheap oil will usher in an age of resource conservation, where people may realize the extent to which they waste energy, and start living with the mindest of a 3rd world country citizen. Living in some poor countries shows you how conscious people can be of resources compared to the US. If the world can adopt a mentality like that, the problem may take care of itself, rather than strict and unpopular governmental legislation. - Harry Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:40:24 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/automobiles/1248#comment-8447 This tax has been debated during the "Grenelle environment forum" ([url]http://www.legrenelle-environnement.fr/grenelle-environnement/spip.php?rubrique112[/url]) with the green organizations and lobbying groups. The government has stepped back and it will only be a "one time-fee", when buying a [i]new[/i] car. Originally, it was supposed to be a yearly tax. This new tax will only raise the initial cost, and will not apply to existing cars... This is already something, but clearly not enough... - Garz Sat, 29 Dec 2007 05:40:11 +0100 http://www.ecogeek.org/automobiles/1248#comment-8437 So, how does this apply to business vehicles that get the lower mileage due to towing a few tons? - EV Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:45:46 +0100