If you thought global warming hysteria couldn't get any worse, think again:
A WEST Australian medical expert wants families to pay a $5000-plus "baby levy" at birth and an annual carbon tax of up to $800 a child.
Writing in today's Medical Journal of Australia, Associate Professor Barry Walters said every couple with more than two children should be taxed to pay for enough trees to offset the carbon emissions generated over each child's lifetime.
Just as well you capitalised the WEST in the topic. Lets just be clear, I'm from the EAST.
Hey, you have all missed the best bit. Professor Walters is clinical associate professor of obsetetric medicine.
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/
Further to my last post, the site 'Gapminder' provides a convenient way to trace the progress of world fertility rates over the past 40 years as well as other interesting comparisons.
http://www.gapminder.org/world/#$majorMode=map$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=f;st=f;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=6;ti=1960$zpv;v=1$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD;by=const$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=SP.DYN.LE00.IN;by=const$inc_s;uniValue=20;iid=SP.DYN.TFRT.IN;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=1004;iid=SP.POP.DPND;by=grp$map_s;sma=50;smi=1.2$inds=
Australia's fertility rate (like most developed countries) is already at, or below replacement.
What surprised me (particularly in light of a previous thread) is that China is also in the lowest rank and India in the second lowest rank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fertility_rate_world_map.PNG
The humanitarian answer for a future sustainable and peaceful planet is economic development, not the continuation of poverty and misery implicit in the futile, even insane, endeavor of 'fighting climate change'.
I think we need to select a nucleus of suitable breeders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKfB1K3Q0is&feature=related
Luke and SJT are invited to make a retroactive voluntary carbon contribution because of their births.
As a parent, I would say, "Fine. But, these people who tax us for our kids will now have to pay us royalties for any technological advances which they enjoy that are made by our kids--in whom WE made an investment and not "those other people. Also, you can't use their taxes for your government retirement. It's a business because of you. Sorry."