The Way to the way

Over the past several years I, like most people, have been consciously making efforts to improve the physical environment of our planet. Some of us do a lot, some of us do a little, and still some of us do nothing.

Unless you have been living in a cave with no access to media or human interaction, you have undoubtedly witnessed the massive "green" movement which is gaining momentum as I write this.

Some of us, in our loving efforts to improve the health of our planet, are proposing to tax products that are not considered "green". The purpose of this type of tax is to control people's behavior in order to improve the environment.

I am 100% opposed to a tax on non-green products, and I believe these taxes would actually slow the momentum of the green movement for the following reasons:

• Each of us deserves the freedom to choose which products make the most sense for our particular situation.
• Punishing people with a tax gives them a reason to resent the green movement and thereby resist it.
• Taxes fund bureaucracies which tend to regulate in favor of business interests which are the most resistant to the green movement.
• The government already collects waaaay too much money.

Finally, we are conscious beings who hold within us the power to create the change we would like to see - just by living that change and being a positive example. Turning that power over to the government is a far less effective alternative.