THBT heavy trucks should start paying for environmental damages
GOVERNMENT
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Heavy trucks right now are a big contributor to many problems, they:
a) they contribute to the causes of global warming, by emmitting carbon
dioxide
b) they cause a lot of health problems due to the noise they produce
c) they destroy the roads by their high weight
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We say that heavy trucks, usually defined as vehicles weighing more than 3500
kilograms, should start to pay in the countries of the European Union a tax based upon
the distance a heavy truck travels and also how much carbon dioxide it emmits on the
way so how efficient it is
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By this tax, as it already is present in Switzerland, we will force the heavy truck
drivers to either pay for the damage they do or transport their goods on railways
In our arguments, we will present you the benefits of an environmental taxation:
1. Reducing effects of carbon emissions
2. Reducing noise pollution
3. Improving safety and infrastructure
1. Reducing effects of carbon emissions
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in this argument we say, that heavy trucks contribute a big part of the carbon dioxide
emissions in the air, these emissions are the ones, that contribute to the global
warming and all in all to the pollution of our environment
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currently, heavy trucks represent on the roads of the European Union only 3 % of all
road vehicles but at the same time contribute 23 % of the carbon dioxide emissions
created by road transport, with a steadily rising number, due to the improvement of
CO2 efficiency of cars – so as heavy trucks contribute a big part to the pollution, while
having a lot more efficient ways of transportation they should pay the tax
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here we say that if trucks either decide to pay the toll or turn to railway transportation
it will benefit the people on a local scale as well as on a global scale
a) on a local scale – every single year according to the Environmental
Protection Agency about 8300 premature deaths, more than 17 000 acute
bronchitis and more than 300 000 cases of respiratory diseases are linked to
being caused by the emissions of heavy trucks
- so by reducing these emissions, by forcing trucks due to the higher taxes on
changing to more environmentally friendly ways of transport, we are reducing
the number of diseases caused by pollution and in that way improving the
situation on a local level
- and even if, the heavy trucks decide to stay on the roads they still will
contribute a lot more to the budget and in this way at least help to treat the
diseases with the money
b) further on, on a global scale – forcing trucks to pay for their environmental
damages has an impact on combating global warming – so by forcing heavy
polluters to go on railways, we decrease the amount of CO2 emitted in the air
and in that way eradicate one of the contributors to global warming
- yet then again, through the second option of them paying for the
environmental damages we get funds, enabling us to support the fight against
climate change
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so because a tax for heavy trucks can help prevent a large amount of CO2 emissions
and contribute to a healthier environment, we should implement it
2. Reducing noise pollution
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in this argument, we claim, that by imposing a environmental tax on heavy trucks we
will reduce the problem of noise pollution which effects the human health, as well as
the biodiversity in our environment
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modern heavy trucks are a source of high noise pollution due to the bad tire-road
contact, engine exhaust and cooling fans ; on an average, they cause 32 times more
noise on the roads as passenger cars
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this noise pollution has an negative impact as well for the people living near the roads
as for the animals
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studies show, that for humans, being exposed to heavy noise, such as the trucks emit,
means many times that they demonstrate a higher blood pressure, are sleep deprived
and even have noise-induced hearing loss – so suffer a lower life quality because of
the noise pollution
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not only for humans, but also for a lot of the animals, noise can have a detrimental
effect, as due to stress, it increases risk of animal death and in this way changing the
balance between different species and leading to extinction of a certain species, as it
was the case with a lot of frog species or at least preventing owls from hunting
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so what we do with a policy of taxing the trucks is:
a) either they switch due to the financial pressure of a taxation to the
railways, abolishing at the noise pollution
b) or even if, even if they stay on the roads and pay for the damages
they make, we get enough resources for the building of sound
barriers to enable a better environment and reduce the amount of
noise pollution happening
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with establishing this environmental tax we are reducing the problem of noise
pollution and so improving the lives of people and also preventing animals from extinction
due to noise