A Tax On Ghost Money?

An anonymous letter writer to the Taipei Times thinks a tax on ghost money is a good idea. Here's his (her?) letter in its entirety:

I am writing this letter to highlight a significant problem for people living in Taiwan.Many recent news reports had showed that the air quality is getting worse. Most people are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. The government has designated no smoking areas in most public buildings and has stepped up non-smoking campaigns. It has even added a tax on cigarettes to decrease consumption and offset healthcare costs.

However, one kind of secondhand smoke still seems to be widely accepted by the public - even if it is potentially twice as harmful. It is highly concentrated and covers a wider area. I am referring to the smoke created by the burning of ghost money by both individuals and temples.
Every time my neighbors burn ghost money, my house is filled with a heavy smoke and strong odor. While it has been proven that the burning of ghost money causes the release of harmful and cancer-causing chemicals, the government has hardly taken any action to address this form of pollution.

What is strange is how the public seems to be oblivious to the impact it has or will have on children, the elderly and people with respiratory problems. People who would never think of smoking in a non-smoking area are the same ones who burn large wads of ghost money outside their homes without giving it a second thought. The problem is exacerbated when local temples burn ghost money in their large incinerators. In my area, the whole neighborhood is layered with gray smog. I live a few blocks from a temple and the air is terrible. I can't imagine what the air quality is like for people who live near the temple.

Since banning this practice is probably impossible, an alternative is in order. The government should place an environment tax on the sale of ghost money. Through this, people who insist on burning ghost money would have to offset the environmental and healthcare costs of doing so.

I foresee some problems. Some people will undoubtedly complain that by taxing ghost money, the government is infringing on their rights. Also, if the tax is especially high, contraband ghost money (which, in terms of chemicals could be even worse than the stuff currently being burned) will appear.

As the letter writer says, the money raised by a tax could be used to offset the environmental and healthcare costs of burning ghost money. But instead of having those costs offset, I'd prefer to see less ghost money going up in smoke.

I think ghost money is like cigarettes in that demand for it is fairly price inelastic. It's not addictive, but people think it's necessary. A price hike may not do much. Religious institutions should be pushed to educate their followers about the hazards of this habit. Certain temples do already discourage the burning of ghost money: Xingtian Temple in Taipei is one.

The Environmental Protection Administration and local governments are doing something. And it's worth remembering that it's not just foreigners who complain about the burning of ghost money.

According to Michael Turton's blog, ghost money that is offered (but not burned) sometimes get recycled. I've never seen this.

EPA Chief Wants Higher Utility Prices

The Taipei Times today published an interview with the chief of the Environmental Protection Administration, Winston Dang. It seems he has read and agrees with the recent TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS article on water and electricity pricing:

"Many of the nation's politicians lack vision in terms of environmental policies -- a fearless politician should go ahead and say, `I'm going to charge more for water and electricity from now on,'" he said. "When water and electricity are too cheap, no businesses would be willing to invest in water treatment, seawater desalinization facilities or renewable energy technologies. Users of water and electricity would also not realize the extent of the world's shortage."

Dang also mentions nuclear power (he doubts it can reduce greenhouse-gas emissions), renewable energy, river cleanups, and the Suhua Freeway project (for arguments in favor of the road, click here; for arguments against, click here).

The list of things he doesn't mention is very long: Public transportation vs. car usage; green buildings; household recycling and garbage incineration...

He may, of course, be out of a job very soon, depending who wins the imminent presidential election.

Earth Hour 2008

Earth Hour 2008 will be in a little over two weeks, on Saturday, March 29th. Of course, you needn't wait until then to turn off unnecessary lights and appliances.

CO2 Estimates on Gasoline Receipts

Right after I discovered CO2 estimates on my utility bills... I bought NT$100 worth of 92-octane (3.33 liters, to be precise). The standard receipt mentions, at the very bottom, that the gas I bought will produce 7kg of carbon dioxide.

Unfortunately, the print is so small and so faint that I might never have noticed this if my wife hadn't pointed it out to me.

ADDED MARCH 15: Looking at receipts from various gas stations, it seems only those run by CPC Taiwan (the state-run oil refiner/distributor) do this.

C02 Estimates On Power, Water Bills

Both Taipower, the government-owned electricity generation and distribution company, and the Taiwan Water Corp. now add short statements to their bills to households, notifying consumers how much CO2 they're responsible for. I'm not sure exactly when they started doing this; looking through my old bills, all I can say is that Taipower have been doing it since at least July 2007.

For some months before that, every bill featured a standard note linking electricity consumption with CO2 emissions.

Both utilities now use exactly the same wording, stating (in Chinese only): "The amount of electicity/water you have used has caused CO2 emissions of X kilograms."

The estimates appear in the top right corner of the bills. They're rather small (68mm x 14mm) and the font is probably too small for many people to read comfortably. I'll be asking local friends if they've noticed it or not...

In this July 2006 document, Taipower says it is responsible for more than 30 percent of Taiwan's total CO2 emissions.

One of Taipower's coal-fired power stations emits more CO2 than any other electricity generation facility in the world, according to this report.