One of the positive influences of parenthood on me is the habit of reading. Yeah, I will admit I was never much into books. In spite of gentle nudging by my parents, I was more concerned about soaking in the sunshine and intense heat of south India playing street cricket. So I am glad to start by taking baby steps. In doing so, I believe I found the perfect story to explain a carbon tax to my 4 year old son. If you think about it, kids books are all about sustainability - they teach respect for all life forms, not wasting stuff and being good citizens and they make it sound like fun, as I think sustainability should be. Not an onerous responsibility. But really, I can’t think of one good reason to bother my son with understanding carbon tax. However, I do think the same story can help explain a carbon tax in toddlers' terms to grown ups.
Anyway, the latest book we checked out from our wonderful public library is a story about a near-sighted giraffe (Youtube reading of the book). Spoiler alert, I am breaking the suspense of the story here. It is about a Giraffe that can't see very well but one who refuses to accept the fact. So when he bangs his head on a tree, he gets a helmet instead of getting glasses. When he bangs his foot, he gets boots. When he falls into a hole, he starts carrying a ladder. When he sits down on a thorny bush, he ties a pillow to his back. You get the point.
So when we adopt every conceivable policy but a carbon tax to address climate change it is akin to the giraffe refusing to wear a glasses. Let me complete the story. The giraffe’s friends after watching him refuse their good advice resolve to help him one way or another. So one night when the giraffe is sleeping, a panther (or may be another species of big cat) stealthily plants a pair of glasses around the giraffe’s eyes. In the morning, when the giraffe bends down to take a sip of water from a lake, he sees his reflection and realises how clownish he looks with a helmet, boots, pillow and a ladder on him. He gets rid of them and realizes how elegant he looks in glasses.
Unfortunately, one cannot plant a carbon tax on a society as stealthily as the panther did with the giraffe. Indeed, government cannot do what private companies such as banks are able to do with fine print, and rightly so. Of course, there is also some truth in that the fine print is itself a product of a complex regulatory landscape. On the contrary, they plant stuff on us more brazenly, when they saddle us with debt due to needless wars and weaponization, expensive healthcare etc. But I digress. So the experts need to find new creative ways to impress upon the citizenry and policy makers why a carbon tax is the elegant solution to carbon pollution.
Maybe I am putting the cart before the horse for I am working on the assumption that carbon pollution is a problem, which unfortunately is a big assumption for an unbelievable large section of american society.
Anyway, the latest book we checked out from our wonderful public library is a story about a near-sighted giraffe (Youtube reading of the book). Spoiler alert, I am breaking the suspense of the story here. It is about a Giraffe that can't see very well but one who refuses to accept the fact. So when he bangs his head on a tree, he gets a helmet instead of getting glasses. When he bangs his foot, he gets boots. When he falls into a hole, he starts carrying a ladder. When he sits down on a thorny bush, he ties a pillow to his back. You get the point.
So when we adopt every conceivable policy but a carbon tax to address climate change it is akin to the giraffe refusing to wear a glasses. Let me complete the story. The giraffe’s friends after watching him refuse their good advice resolve to help him one way or another. So one night when the giraffe is sleeping, a panther (or may be another species of big cat) stealthily plants a pair of glasses around the giraffe’s eyes. In the morning, when the giraffe bends down to take a sip of water from a lake, he sees his reflection and realises how clownish he looks with a helmet, boots, pillow and a ladder on him. He gets rid of them and realizes how elegant he looks in glasses.
Unfortunately, one cannot plant a carbon tax on a society as stealthily as the panther did with the giraffe. Indeed, government cannot do what private companies such as banks are able to do with fine print, and rightly so. Of course, there is also some truth in that the fine print is itself a product of a complex regulatory landscape. On the contrary, they plant stuff on us more brazenly, when they saddle us with debt due to needless wars and weaponization, expensive healthcare etc. But I digress. So the experts need to find new creative ways to impress upon the citizenry and policy makers why a carbon tax is the elegant solution to carbon pollution.
Maybe I am putting the cart before the horse for I am working on the assumption that carbon pollution is a problem, which unfortunately is a big assumption for an unbelievable large section of american society.
