Where IS all the hot air?

    It has been a mild winter here on the east coast.  Fine with me, need the saved cash to fill up the gas tank in the car along with the higher cost at the grocery store.  I am not of the opinion, as some,  the recovery is sailing along just fine and no need to speak the word inflation.  Has anyone commented on the higher taxes paid to the government when the cost of a gallon of gas goes up??????

Trade war looms over EU's airline tax

 

A trade war is looming over the European Union's move to impose charges on airlines based on the greenhouse gases emitted during a flight into and out of European airports.
Beyond a certain level of free allowances, the airlines have to buy emission permits depending on the emissions produced by their flights. As the free allowances will be reduced in future years, the charge to be paid will rise, thus increasingly raising the price of passenger tickets and the cost of transporting goods, and affecting the profitability and viability of airlines.
The China Air Transport Association has estimated that Chinese airlines will have to pay 800 million yuan ($127 million) for 2012, the first year of the EU scheme, and that this will treble by 2020.
According to Reuter Thomsom Carbon Point, the total cost to all airlines in 2012 is estimated at 505 million euros ($664 million), at the carbon price of 5.84 euro per tonne last week. Last September, when the carbon price was 12 euro per tonne, Carbon Point estimated the cost would be 1.1 billion euros in 2012, rising to 10.4 billion euros in 2020.
Many countries whose airlines are affected, including China, India, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, Brazil and the United States, consider this to be unfair or illegal or both.
The countries are particularly angry that the EU is imposing a charge on emissions produced during the entire flight of an aircraft and not just on the portion of the flight that is in European airspace.