[Gllug] [OT] Fighting a virus

[salsaman at xs4all.nl]

On Sat, February 17, 2007 15:33, Chris Bell wrote:
> On Fri 16 Feb, Aaron Trevena wrote:
>>
>
>>
>> Yes - I've noticed that recent 'green taxes' seem to be aimed at
>> making life harder for the poor polluter while having no impact on
>> rich polluters - blanket taxing that costs the same regardless of
>> whether your flying in tiny seats with 300 other people on a brand new
>> and efficient plane, or travelling with a dozen others in an older
>> luxury plane.
>>
>> > Increasing tax on petrol might be a good idea, except that the UK
>> > already has among the highest fuel taxes in the world.
>>
>> Yup - and even green fuels are taxed heavily - bio-diesel is still
>> taxed punitively despite being pretty much free of pollution.
>
>    Very few people have examined the whole picture. Any mode of transport
> requires a considerable capital cost, including energy resources, and has
> a
> designed maximum capability and lifetime. During that designed lifetime
> there will be further running costs. There is often a trade-off between
> the
> capital costs, running costs, and expected service life. There are also
> variations between the maximum capabilities, actual needs, and average
> use.
>    One method being trialled provides shared ownership and shared use
> among
> a local community. Another involves vehicle hire when required. I have had
> to hire as required on some occasions, but the costs, including time and
> effort required, are high, while an exact match to requirements is not
> always available when required.




The Netherlands has a very good system, "Greenwheels". Basically, you pay
a small fee to join, and then you get a card. You can then look up on a
website where your nearest "Greenwheels" car is parked. You use the card
to unlock the car, and drive it to where you want to go. You then get
charged for the distance driven.

http://new.greenwheels.nl (sorry, Dutch only).

Gabriel.


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