Ending the $650 billion per year spent in obsolete subsidies for environmentally destructive activities like clearcutting and fishing, and levying taxes on resource depletion and pollutants like greenhouse gases, could provide $1.5 trillion a year for income tax cuts, according to The Natural Wealth of Nations, a new book from the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington D.C.-based environmental research institute. Under this proposal, a U.S. family of four would get a net tax cut of $2,000.



"These changes would allow us to put the power of the market to work to protect the environment," said author and Worldwatch Senior Researcher David Malin Roodman. "Too many costs of industrial activity are not incorporated into markets. By translating environmental costs into prices, governments can grab business decision-makers by the bottom line and help consumers better understand the true environmental costs of their purchases and investments. If we're going to save the planet, prices must tell the ecological truth."



Most of these cuts would occur in industrial nations, which subsidize pollution the most. Such as in the United States, Germany, and Japan, where taxes average $6,000-7,000 a person. Roodman suggests phasing in a tax on carbon from fossil fuel burning, starting low and rising gradually over time, allowing cars and factories to live out their useful lives and then be replaced by cleaner models. Announcing gradual tax changes would send a powerful signal about an economy's direction and encourage businesses to plan ahead.



"A major advantage of this approach is that it makes environmentally sound choices cheaper and easier," said Roodman. "Harmful products will become more expensive, but high-mileage cars and recycling will become more affordable and convenient. Using taxes instead of regulations, governments can set targets for environmental protection-and markets can do what they do best, finding the cheapest ways to hit those targets. And countries that make these subsidy cuts and tax shifts will spur their companies to develop clean technologies, giving them a competitive advantage in the global marketplace."



One way of hitting these targets is to use a "fuel saving device", that will not only cut costs for fuel but also help the enviornment by reducing emissions. The Canadian Hydrogen Energy Company has made a unit that reduces emissions on cars and trucks by 60% (see http://www.preferredenergy.us ). This technology increases fuel milage by 30%, which saves consumers money. US President George Bush has made it possible to get tax rightoffs for "fuel saving devices" such as these, which convert cars and trucks into "Hybrids".



Another way to cut costs dramatically is to decrease energy use in lighting, office equipment, and heating and air conditioning in your facility.



Many technological advances are leading to increased energy. The National Association of Physicians for the Environment (NAPE), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has developed a direct assistance program designed specifically to help health care facilities of less than 100,000 square feet become more energy efficient. In teaming with EPA, NAPE is building on the success of the agency's Green Lights® and ENERGY STAR® programs that have enabled thousands of organizations of all types to save energy and money through the use of energy efficient technologies. In the health care sector alone, these programs have



Why? To save money. Facility upgrades can save 30 to 40 percent on energy costs, with payback for investment within three years and continuous savings thereafter. To keep people healthy and protect the environment. NAPE's theme is "Pollution Prevention is Disease Prevention." Every time a light switch, computer, heating system or air conditioner is turned on, a power plant consumes fuel to produce electricity and produces air pollution. The majority of the pollutants most clearly linked to increased morbidity and mortality are energy related.



Energy-related emissions such as those from power plants, vehicles, and industry account for most of the emissions of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and the smallest particulates.We know that, on average, for every 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity used, the following pollutants will be produced: 55 pounds of nitrogen oxides (a component of smog and acid rain), 154 pounds of sulfur dioxide (a respiratory irritant and component of acid rain), and 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (implicated in global climate change).



More than 850 facilities, and more are joining daily, have increased energy efficiency in the last several years.



Find out about Fuel Saving Devices and Energy Cost Reduction Units that cut your energy costs and save the environment on our website at: http://www.preferredenergy.us