Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
That's exactly it; making the situation of being poor more comfortable and convenient only produces more poor people.
I'm not even sure everyone being poor would be good for the environment either. The very poor, those living on the streets, dispose of everything rather than take care of it. They aren't washing their clothes, instead they are getting new (or used) clothes and discarding what they were wearing.
aerohead- What do you think about tiered pricing for energy, water, gas use? A progressive rate structure such that those who are poor can afford to utilize some minimum amount, with progressively higher rates for those who use more?
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I think it's probably one of the few market-based mechanisms that have any legs.
Some baseline might be established for utilities, at a given rate per capita.
If you break out with consumption,there's a negative reinforcement,as now you're consuming a resource which could be used by another family unit,and the unit price now jumps to the next level.
If you insist on this level,you're really going to pay.And community pressure may provide enough stigma,that one would be reluctant to stray too far.
Super-efficient users could trade unused capacity,like cap and trade does.
There could be incentives all across the energy marketplace.
If we could capture the carbon it would never be an issue.
In Texas,they're already doing this with municipal water supplies.Electricity and gas,and fuel could follow.