Much to my surprise, my last post received a bit of attention by way of a personal attack on my character. Here is the comment for all to see;
Anonymous 10 December 2009 11:35 AM
Gavin, have you read any of the treaties? Or are you just another sheepish alarmist on the “CO2 is evil” bandwagon? I doubt you are being paid by anyone, so I conclude that you are just as brainwashed as the rest of the neo hippie zombies mindlessly cheerleading the biggest fraud ever perpetuated on human kind. It really is very sad. If you had read the documentation, you would realise the following:
• Only the west will pay and have to reduce emissions
• “Rich” western nations will pay anything up to 2% of their GDP as a carbon tax (Australias 2009 GDP was 1015 Billion dollars)
• This tax is to fund a massive global government beurocracy with something in the order of 700 new departments with more acronyms than you can poke a stick at.
• In addition there will be levies on greenhouse gas emissions
• Allowances to emit will be auctioned off. If you cant afford them, you cannot emit.
• A uniform global levy of $2 per tonne of CO2 for ALL fossil fuel emissions
• Levies on emissions from international aviation. This means every airfare except those going in and out of “poorer” nations
• a 2% share of “climate debt” to poorer nations
• A global levy on international monetary transactions (every transaction across international borders will attract a 2% tax)
• Penalties and unlimited fines for those who don’t comply, which will be enforced by a global “Green” police force.Can you afford all these taxes? I know I can’t, and sure as hell my children will not be able to afford them either. And be aware that this is only the beginning of what theyre proposing.
I have some advice for you: Until you have read the treaties coming out of Copenhagen and understand the agenda of the corrupt and power hungry elites running this farce, then shut up.
Thank you Anonymous for your well researched comment. Now, not being one to back down from my beliefs, I did a bit of research myself. The comment was posted via an IP address that is owned and assigned to News Limited via their internet gateway in Sydney. This is the very same News Limited that owns at least 70% of the media publications in this country. Now not wanting to illegally dig any deeper into their network via whois, when I got home today, I did a bit of Googling to see if I could match any of the phrases used in the comment.
Well as sure as eggs are oval shaped, I found two journalists who write for the Herald Sun, who had writing styles matching the way the comment was written. Then again, I could be wrong and it could just be a normal News Limited employee and I will not resort to slander. So, due to the wonder of the internet, we find that the anonymous comment is now not so anonymous! What would Rupert think of this, seeing he is fully behind the parent company’s push to become carbon neutral by 2010. A very naughty employee indeed.
So here is my reply;
Dear Anon. No, I am not paid by anyone, but you obviously are. Your name calling is very impolite, as is your assumption that I have not read the proposed treaties. I have read what detail is currently available and fully realise the ramifications of the proposal. The western way of life has caused the issues we now face, so it should only be fitting that we pay for our mistakes. I for one am very happy to pay these taxes, because the mere fact that a tax exists means that you actually consume something to get taxed upon. This is quite contrary to the sustainable lifestyle I lead which is geared towards lowering consumption, therefore less tax, if you had have done your research. I strive to consume less.
Neo hippy zombie? I don’t think so. Free thinking realist, most definitely. I have carefully considered both sides of the argument and even if the elevated change in climate we are experiencing is some how magically not caused by humans, then my behaviour of consuming less will actually leave some resources behind for future generations, who will reap the benefit either way.
So until you stop hiding from behind the thin veneer the anonymous tag gives you, I believe that the final word is mine. So I kindly recommend that you get your head out of your arse, and shut up yourself!
So on that note, here is the next video in the COPtv series by GetUP! Australia.
Enjoy!
Gavin
Wow. I have to say it saddens me that someone would hide behind the title of ‘anon’ to play childish name calling games. Ridiculous.
After reading your last post I watched The Inconvenient Truth and it has definitely opened my eyes and answered some of those tricky questions. Thank you for pulling the wool out of our eyes and showing things can be done by anyone.
🙂
I had someone ask me the other day if I realised that these carbon taxes are going to increase the price of imported goods, electricity, and petrol (among other things).
Well, duh!
That’s the whole point!
Those things are currently only ‘cheap’ because the cost of their environmental impact is externalised. Carbon tax is one way of trying to incorporate that cost back into the price of the product.
They also seemed to think that this was just going to increase the cost of living without actually changing anything. They seem to assume that we’d keep buying the same amounts of these things.
In actual fact, what will happen in many (most?) cases is that those products will become more expensive relative to more sustainably-produced substitutes. This will cause people to switch to the lower-impact substitutes, which is a good thing. Companies will also look for ways to reduce the carbon footprint of their existing products so they don’t have to pay so much in emissions taxes, thereby making them lower-impact as well.
Yes, it’s going to change things, and yes, some things are going to cost us more. I’m sure there will be some inconveniences along the way. But stuffing up the planet would be pretty inconvenient too, don’t you think?
LMAO! Well Well… I am pleased to see that Climate change has awarded such a debate from such a narrow minded half wit… oppss did I just slander someone? Oh dear, my bad…. If Anon had ANY sense at all, they would have left a name and NOT drop slanderous crap in the lap of a simple family trying to do their bit for a Lesser impact on the Planet.
To judge another human being is wrong, to deface or dename is worse. How DARE you lay this type of political crap upon another human being who has OUTDONE themselves in making a difference.
Wake up to yourself! I am also assuming ANON is male. (no offense Gav) Only a male could be that bitchy. Comment by all means, Challenge the information by all means, but slander is just not acceptable IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
Lotsa Love Gav….. Keep up the GREAT work and I for one enjoy reading your blog as I KNOW how much time you put into research and how accurate it is.
xxxxxxx
Teena Webber
Way to go Gavin!!! I’ve recently found your blog via the co-op and I like your honest style. You say what you think and your opinion on stuff. Since when were we not able to do that?!?!
I would much rather consume less than pay taxes and I’m sure many others feel the same way.
Team Gavin!!!
Yet another global government conspiracy theory nutter, ho hum. Don’t they realise that the only way “beurocracy” (bureaucracy for the educated) can act upon anything is via more bureaucracy, so there is nothing unusual about the approach government is taking at all, well, except for failing to realise that more bureaucracy usually doesn’t work. Certainly no conspiracy.
The sad thing is this guy has children and somehow maintains the illusion that the extra wealth he gains from making these comments (whether via direct compensation or through lower future taxes if he succeeds in his goal of preventing future action) is going to save their bacon from climate change.
He should read some of Monbiot’s stuff for a bit of perspective.
Keep up the good work, and see this as a sign that you must be having an impact if you’re attracting their attention!
those ‘e cant afford it’ arguments piss me off. Prolly not an employee tho’- just someone whos plagarised trashy newspaper reports. Ive seena few that look very similar. Lol. thanks for the laugh Gave. have a green weekend!
WTG Gavin! Nothing annoys me more than these cretins who spinelessly hide behind “ANON” to post their half baked synapses.
Keep on posting!
Oh, I am so glad I came back to check if you had responded in the comments section of your last post to Anon! Well said… have a great weekend!
You go GAV! Heck, BC imposed a carbon tax last year and we MADE money because they gave rebates to low-income folks (that’ssss us!) based on income. We qualified for a $200 rebate. But since we only drive 600 miles a year, and we have consumed 10-15% of the average *everything* for the last couple of years we didn’t pay anywhere close to that out in carbon taxes. There’s gonna be lots of gnashing of teeth while they try to figure out how to repurpose all those Hummers. (planter? granny suite? *chicken coop*? LOL)
Nice rebuttal Gav, though it makes me sad (once again) that Anon is not alone is his/her thinking, it’s all I seem to be hearing this week…
Go Gav!!
I’m all for debate and discussion but to hide behind Anon and bitch and whine about having to pay for your impact on the planet is pathetic.
It doesn’t matter if you believe humans are responsible for the accelerated climate change or not. Our lifestyle is nothing more than gluttony. We use and consume with abandon and it’s time we learnt some restraint. If it means been hit in the hip pocket, so be it, we caused the problem and it’s our responsibility to fix it.
Anon your comments may have had more credibility if you’d had the common decency to use your name.
Gavin, well said, as usual. Keep up the good work and to borrow a phrase from the late Don Chipp ‘keep the bastards honest’
ver word – china maybe it’s just me but I see a bit of irony there
Well said Gav!!
Well said Gavin, I;m with you all the way
Many thanks to one and all for the very kind and supportive comments. You don’t know how much it means to me.
I agree with you all, and hope to see the end of anon and their kind. I think that you have scared it away, for a while anyway!
It is a pity we can’t keep the rest of them out of the media to stop the added confusion for the general public who have a hard enough time of accepting the ramifications of climate change and the action that is inevitably required.
Gav x
Onya Gavin, I have only recently found your blog and am enjoying the reading. I agree with all you have said on this matter, unfortunately the world is full of people like Anon.
Have a great weekend,
Tania
Gav,
I have to admit that much of Anon says and others like him/her scare me but I am intelligent enough (well I hope so) to sort through the hype and fear to find the foundation of truth.
That truth for me is simple. For the majority of people; things don’t change unless someone can make a lot of money out of the change or people’s back pocket starts to hurt. Money or the lack of it, is very motivating.
If it becomes too expensive for us to use our car as much as we did, then we will look for alternatives like public transport. If the market starts demanding cars that uses cheaper alternative biofuels well then there is money to be made from it and companies will start producing these cars and biofuels.
If it becomes too expensive to eat red meat every night of the week, well I guess people will quickly learn how to make yummy meals out of beans.
My attitude is if there is a chance that global warming is not actually happening then I say isn’t living a sustainable life still a good thing for the environment, for future generations and for your back pocket?
Hi Gavin, having Anon’s and your reply, well good on you. Never back down in the face of adversity. It’s not easy for any eco-friendly folks to get the job done and with attitudes like Anon’s it makes it 10x harder.
We all need to do our little part to help. I know one man/woman alone cannot change the world, but many 1000s can, and we all must play our small part where we can. I’m surprised he hasn’t found my blog and bashed me over the head with his rhetoric, although I’ve just started so no doubt I’ll get a visit someday 😀
You can take heart that because he used the Anonymous tag, he’s nothing but a troll, and they are easily dismissed.
You now know there are more and more of us joining the eco-world everyday, and together, we can do some good. Great blog btw, and I’m sure I will learn a lot from you.