Farmers will be taxed on the flatulence of their livestock in an attempt to slow New Zealand’s contribution to global warming.
Can you believe this? This is the coolest thing ever! Never in my wildest dreams would my country ever do something this cool.
Posted by Scott Mcdowell at June 21, 2003 01:28 AMyou're kidding, right? Wait till someone decides to tax you for YOUR methane production. moooo
Posted by: pril at July 11, 2003 11:34 PMOkay....I'll let it out. I'm actually vegan. This means that I don't use any products from cows. I'm also all about taxing ranchers, for what their industry does to the environment.
Posted by: scott at July 12, 2003 12:45 AMi kind of figured that. What about what taxing does to the ranchers?
You all for taxing Hindus in India for their cowfarts, too? Its ridiculous. There are more people than cattle on the planet. And we're all producing methane. This is conveniently ignored. Most vegans eat far more legumes (notorious fart producers) than meateaters- should we tax you for it? Farts are methane no matter what animal they come from. And methane.. yknow, it destroys the ozone layer.
(i know what a vegan is, btw.. i did grow up in the 80s LA punk scene).
Do you really not use ANY animal products, or just the obvious ones?
(i'm not trying to argue with you or knock your beliefs. But since humans fart too, and there are more of us, it seems hypocritical to single out ONLY cattle ranchers, and there are a lot of ranchers who work hard to make sure their land isn't degraded. My father-in-law, for one. Ranchers aren't idiots. They understand that when their land is degraded, their cattle- their livelihood- are too)
If that's the direction you believe the world should be headed, then a world-wide flat tax on humans for methane production should be enacted. And the governments can install little sensors, like O2 sensors in cars, in our behinds, and transmit every methane-producing incident to the Methane Tax Bureau at the UN.
(ps i do like your blog. I'm all over reading about other musicians. Good luck with your album.)
I totally agree with you about the problem of humans. It's gotten out of control! For me, I've gone vegan because I believe it's a more sustainable lifestyle...or maybe it's because I'm rebelling against my family history (my grandmother used to be the national president for the cowbelles, and I think she was cattlewoman of the year just last year in Arizona--how's that for rancher cred?).
Call me pessimistic....wait, I am being pessimistic. For years I had a "Save The Planet, Kill Yourself" sticker on my trumpet case.
PS: Are you a musician too? Cool. In another two weeks I'm probably going to release the album, both online and on vinyl. I'm just waiting for the pressing plant to mail me my finished records.
Posted by: scott at July 12, 2003 04:17 AM