I suppose forms of transport would be an example of
mobile-source air pollution, in particular looking at air travel. Well, this is a very
interesting case to apply to the "polluter-pays principle," as you put it. I think I am
right in saying that some countries are already talking about imposing a "green tax" on
the cost of tickets that will mean that those who are travelling by air will have to pay
more to take into account the pollution that is being caused by their travel. However,
to my mind, this does not go far enough, as the real people who should be having to pay
something is the airline itself. Perhaps there should be a law forcing them to invest a
certain amount of their profits into environmental relief or some kind of green energy
research.
I suppose the same could be said for shipping
companies who transport vast quantities of goods both within countries and between them
by road. Maybe we should have to pay more for products that have to be shipped this way,
but also maybe the companies themselves that do the shipping should be forced to pay for
the pollution that they are causing. It is a difficult moral issue in a sense, because
such companies wouldn't exist if we didn't want such services, so maybe we should all
have to pay a price that reflects the environmental impact of such
activities.
No comments:
Post a Comment