EDITORIAL: In search of the green alternatives

Where is the hydro-mobile? Where is the solar-powered dune buggy dragster or battery-powered hot rod?

These questions arise as gas prices rise and with the onset of the new carbon tax.

In its current form, this tax isn’t truly supporting greener alternative choices, if all the government is doing is taxing people and giving them a $100 cheque.

Why isn’t this green tax money being funneled into research for green fuel or bolstering public commuting alternatives?

The government seems to be simply relying on the oil companies and car manufacturers to come up with eco-friendly alternatives for them. But many of these manufacturers are profiting from the escalating gas prices or marketing sleek, overpriced hybrids.

While many people tout biking, walking, or catching the local bus to work as workable solutions, these alternatives are not easily accessible for many people living in B.C.

If we were a country with a smaller land base like some of those in Europe, perhaps the public transit system would work better for us. But our country is vast and holds a relatively small population compared to most of the countries in the word.

The carbon tax is taxing people before real alternatives are established. This kind of tax would make more sense in a changeover transition time with eco-technology established and launching around the country.

Some boast the new hybrids are the new green technology, but hybrids still run on the root of the problem – oil. While they are better than most cars on the road, they simply aren’t the solution to the problem.

Rolling more hybrids out of the factories in the next 10 years is disheartening. If all we have to look forward to as an alternative is hybrids, then it means someone in the research department is asleep at the wheel.