I'll try to keep this from becoming a rant…

In yesterday's post I mentioned a recent Helium Report that presents the cost to offset CO2 emissions when traveling by private jet. (I failed to mention that this particular report was compiled in collaboration with Terrapass).

But this post isn't intended to rehash yesterday's. Instead I'd like to use the it as a takeoff point (pardon the pun) for this thought:

Given the fact that Jackson Hole Airport is operated by a "joint powers board" created by the Town of Jackson and Teton County, does the opportunity exist to impose a carbon tax on private jets flying in and out of Jackson Hole?

(Heaven forbid I would suggest imposing a carbon tax on commercial flights and make an outrageously expensive ticket even more inaccessible to locals as well as the tourists who fly commercially and upon whom many local businesses depend. I'll just have to hope that these folks "tax" themselves when they buy their tickets on Expedia or Travelocity.)

And, by proposing this tax, I don't mean to imply that some folks who fly by private jet are not already doing their fair share to reduce and/or offset their carbon emissions–many are. It just seems to me that a carbon tax on private jet flights is one way to systematically ensure that anyone who can afford to travel on a whim pays the freight for their carbon emissions…

Folks like Dick Cheney, for example, who frequently flies in and out of Jackson Hole to vacation (oops, I promised not to rant).

Carbon Neutral Journal's thoughts are brought to you by Hawtin Jorgensen Architects.

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