Lib Dems "4X4 tax"

The Liberal Democrats have proposed a £2000 tax on gas-guzzling cars. The party want to fight the next general election by advocating "greener taxes".

Of course the Lib Dems are a party of big government and this hasn't changed since "Ming" Campbell became leader (they're social liberals, so what do you really expect?!). Nonetheless, I don't see why the market couldn't deal with this.

In recent times, people do pay more attention to environmental issues. More people feel inclined to recycle, for example, as a consequence. Granted, the Green Party haven't done that well in light of such feelings, but I feel most in the electorate consider them to be a single issue party.

Since people place greater emphasis on environmental protection, then organisations guided by self-interest would realise this. To satisfy consumer demand, they would produce products that didn't produce a detrimental effect on the environment. This would include cleaner and "greener" cars.

Devices such as catalytic converters, unleaded petrol, etc. weren't created by the state. They were invented by the market. We don't need the state to provide environmentally friendly goods.