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I didn't receive a reply on either occasion - not from anyone. He must exist though, because I recently heard him quoted in the news as saying that the last time there were concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere at the level we have now, there were palm trees in the Antarctic. Oh. Well thanks for that Jamie, now that you have thrown the situation into such stark relief I guess we had all better do something about it.
Seriously, are there any quotable pithicisms left with which to attempt to frighten the public into action?
He went on to say that a major part of our contribution to greenhouse gases comes from us driving between the cities in this country. As I heard this I was, myself, driving. I have to tell you it was almost enough to make me pull over and walk.
There followed one or two other news items; I don't really remember, I was too busy wondering at the actual point of Shaw's revelations about the history of palm trees.
Then the big news item arrived: Our government has just released its Clean Car Package, under the terms of which, people who buy electric vehicles after July 1st this year will get some of their money back. That's more like it!
People who purchase a new EV under $80,000 will receive a rebate of up to $8,625 and those who buy second hand will get up to $3,450. That seems like a good idea, especially when you consider that the rebates will be funded by extra fees, charged from January 2022, on imports of higher-emitting vehicles.
There has, of course, been some lively debate since this announcement. Those who are planning to buy a new ute after January are not too pleased. Jacinda's reply to this was 'buy a second hand one and don't pay the extra'.
Someone else said 'Why shouldn't wealthy people benefit from the rebate when they also value their money?' Well I'm sure they do, but let's be honest if you're in the market for a car priced over $80,000 do you really need a handout to help you? Ardern points out that if someone values the rebate [enough for it to influence them] - get a car in the 60k - 70k range - there are plenty of good ones.
The other condition of the rebate is that the car must have a safety rating of three stars or more. Makes sense.
So I guess, since I didn't hear the whole story, it might be fair to assume that Mr Shaw's comments were related to the main story, which is fair enough.
Personally I think the scheme is a good one, and I have no problem with taking the money from people who choose to emit more and giving it to those who choose to emit less.
