Let’s just say it, shall we? Environmentalism is incompatible with Capitalism.

The UK’s airline industry, already complaining that no other country has to tolerate an Air Passenger Duty, is desperate to avoid this tax going up.

Curiously the Green Party and the Government have the same line on this: The Airline industry is ‘undertaxed’ (a sure sign they’re about to be squeezed until the pips squeak), and that the taxes better reflect the ‘environmental costs.’

Now unless Whitehall has developed an Economics super computer the size of Australia, I don’t believe for one second they have any clue whatsoever what the ‘environmental costs’ are. Let’s call it what it is – it’s a Sin Tax… one of those ‘Discretionary Purchase Revenue Raising Opportunities’.

The money is not being spent on “Environmental Repairs”. There’s no actual costs imposed on anyone. Nothing to spend money on, nothing to take money for.

I find myself on the side of the airlines:

We are in survival mode… we don’t understand why the UK is still insisting with an air passengers duty that has nothing to do with the environment.

The Green Party disagrees:

But Darren Johnson, from the Green Party, said it was a good thing if people were discouraged from flying.

“We need to be increasing the air passenger duty,” he said. “Aviation is simply not paying its way in terms of the environmental damage it causes.”

You know, let’s start having some numbers. Let’s see exactly what damage is caused by an aeroplane, and let’s work out who’s currently paying for the clean up – and how much they’re spending on it.

Because, really, in any other field, this sort of argument – one that doesn’t make any kind of sense, relying on emotive language and metaphors without any basis in fact or reason – would be brushed aside and crushed as quickly as this kind of bullshit is being accepted.

Environmentalism is starting to feel more and more like a noose tightening around our neck, and I’m getting increasingly concerned by the Green/Red mutual love-in. I don’t know how on earth I reconcile this growing cynicism with membership of the most gung-ho Environmentally friendly mainstream party. I always reasoned that the Lib Dems would never get into power so long as they kept Green issues on their agenda so it wasn’t really anything to worry about – but now Labour’s into the Green thing as a handy revenue raising opportunity and Call Me Dave wants us to ‘Vote Blue to Go Green.’  Another wonderful democratic choice.