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An article in today's Washington Post compared the recent rise in oil prices to a $150 billion dollar-per-year tax on the US economy, enough to negate the various economic stimulus plans being discussed by the Congress and White House. It's a shocking figure, and it helps feed the forecasts of recession, which tend to be at least partially self-fulfilling. But before we accept that $150 million figure at face value--despite its impressive pedigree--it's worth spending a moment on a few ballpark validations. Above all, we should remind ourselves that if high oil prices are a tax, they tax producers, not consumers, who rarely purchase crude oil to use in our homes or vehicles.

GE Energy Financial Services has released a study estimating that the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind power that is set to expire December 31, 2008 more than pays for itself through tax revenues from the projects' income, vendors' profits and individual workers' wages.

While grid connected homes have been given a 30% tax rebate on all new solar installations in the recent Bailout Bill, off-grid homes receive nothing. What’s more there is no cap on the size of the solar installation so wealthy grid-tied homeowners will receive the biggest subsidy.

Para compensar os custos ambientais decorrentes da utilização de lâmpadas de baixa eficiência energética, o Governo introduziu uma taxa através do Decreto-Lei n.º 108/2007, de 12 de Abril (abre uma nova janela).

Project Better Place, owned by Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, will provide lithium-ion batteries to power the cars and the infrastructure to refresh or replace them. One battery will enable the cars to travel 124 miles per charge. Project Better Place will install parking meter-like plugs on city streets and construct service stations along highways to replace the batteries. [2] Renault-Nissan will build the new cars and will offer a small number of their existing electric models, such as the “Megane” sedan, at prices roughly comparable to gasoline models. To promote this form of environmentally efficient transportation, the Israeli government cut the tax rate on cars powered by electricity to 10 percent (from 79 percent on ordinary cars) to encourage consumers to buy the vehicles once they become available. [3] This initiative will offer consumers an inexpensive car for which they will pay a monthly fee based on expected mileage.

Varese, a town in Northern Italy, runs on 100% renewable power. The town uses a mix of wind, solar and small-scale hydropower. The town has reaped benefits from the energy network through added jobs, and an additional 350,000 euros [US $514,000] in tax revenues which is handed over to the council each year. Varese has also seen a six-fold increase in tourists in the last ten years, many coming just to see its renewable energy network.

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland will ban traditional light bulbs in favor of energy-saving alternatives from 2009 and penalize high-emission vehicles from July 2008, Environment Minister John Gormley said on Thursday.

As the world's fifth-largest exporter of oil and Western Europe's biggest exporter of natural gas, Norway has found itself under increasing pressure to improve its environment profile. The new plan includes offsetting Norwegian emissions by stopping deforestation in developing countries and planting trees. On the domestic front, money is to be earmarked for investment in renewable energy and new taxes on fuel introduced as part of a 'carrot and stick' strategy promoting more environmentally friendly behaviour and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

become a leader in the global technology race in the new experimental and costly technology known as carbon capture and storage (CCS)