We use a 1.4 litre Toyota Yaris. The Car – Luxury or Liability?
Joe has all the semblance of a contented man. He was like W.B’s
“… The freckled man who goes
To a grey place on a hill
In grey Connemara clothes..”
His mode of transport is a bicycle. The dynamo, bell, pump and mobile shopping basket fit in comfortably for him with the modern era of iPods ,e-mails and mobile phones. He may know a lot about those wonder ‘toys’ now enjoyed by some, even as old as 50, but, he won’t allow himself to succumb to the temptation of actually owning them.
Joe rides into town every day without having to display any discs that are compulsory for the car owner. He hasn’t to worry about which pole he chains his bike to as he ambles through the town to shop or visit the library. For him a single or double yellow line doesn’t matter a hoot. Safe from Cathal who can cast a cold eye on his parking methods but Joe’s two-wheeler gives him the ‘freedom’ of the town , ticketless – like a modern day plane flight. The unsociable machines that stand on every street corner inviting the shopper to put the first Euro in that slot doesn’t bother our Joe either, no, neither do traffic jams or even one way systems.
Joe listens attentively to the radio and puts on a wry smile when he hears the news of another tax on motorists, a carbon tax; for he knows that his bike emits no carbon dioxide, it won’t pollute the air that the towns-people breathe, it’s eco friendly.
But Joe has to breathe the air that’s emitted from the poisonous exhausts of some 15k or 20k vehicles that pass locally each day. Then he heard on the wireless that a car produces its own weight of CO2 for every 6,000 miles it travels and that transport is the 3rd biggest generator of Co2 emissions.
When white man was first encountered by American Indians, their greatest fear was well expressed when they exclaimed that he would pollute the pure air and the water.
A motorist produces an average of 140 grams of Co2 for every kilometre he travels. So what does that all matter when there’s a cure at hand – the carbon tax, up to 5 cent on a litre of petrol and diesel being mooted. That will be so much the better for all, because it will cut travel by 1/24!
Our Kyoto agreement stands at limiting greenhouse gases to 13% by 2012. So, the motorist will be playing his part, thanks to this reduction in travel. Rubbish. Not a scintilla of truth lies therein. For it is not, truly, a carbon tax, it’s just another form of taxation of the beleaguered motorist, who has been savaged by taxation from the initial purchase of the new car starting with VRT. If the proposed €500m – take in this carbon tax were to be spent in the area of designation, well and good: but will it. Fix potholes , purchase of more electric cars, a grant for the insulation of homes and more solar panels on the roofs, or for other house energy efficiency: lay on a bus service especially for the rural community. Wasn’t there an additional 8 cent put on a litre of petrol in the last budget . Did it matter to the motorist that there was no mention of it being a ‘carbon’ tax? No. Did anyone drive less miles as a result? No. Therefore, putting a further increase on the stuff will not be a move to making the air cleaner, rather a subtle way of a certain party attempting to make us believe they are making our world greener.
In the next year or two the American economy is expected to gain momentum, the dollar rising in value against the Euro and interest rates will rise. Our oil is purchased in petrodollars which suits us now because of the weighted value of the Euro. That keeps the price of oil artificially low here, but for how long? In a few years time, I predict that a litre of petrol will be about €1.50 plus. The State’s profit at present is 70% odd – how much more can a motorist suffer. Will the state reduce their take when the dollar increases substantially against the Euro?
Joe, keep smiling while you pedal home and don’t look around corners to search for big brother, for it is still legal for you to make or take a call on your new mobile phone with just one hand on the handlebar!