The British government may call them “carbon credits”. I call them environmental indulgences. “Environmentalist Protestants” would be appalled. In essence, Prime Minister Brown appears to be attempting to monetize evil, for while normal currency represents goods and services, “carbon currency” represents liabilities and obligations.

The carbon credit appears to be reminiscent of the sacrificial tariffs from the Book of Leviticus where atonement is monetized through animal sacrifice. And yet, animals are real. “Carbon credits” look more like a monetary will-o’-the-wisp that is prone to abuse. “Carbon credits” could be called the currency of Humpty Dumpty, for they would be worth precisely what a government says they are worth, nothing less and nothing more. And not only will polluting corporations seek to buy “carbon credits” to avoid upgrading their facilities and actually clean the air, but an entire economy will appear based upon fraudulent reporting of carbon footprints.

It would be easy to imagine how rural villagers would pass around green appliances to create a false impression for government assessors. Be careful to hide that lawn mower from the tax man! It will be very difficult for the “carbon credit” scheme to fail to reward cheaters while penalizing honest people. A criminal mind couldn’t concoct a more efficient system for graft than the carbon indulgence.

The “carbon credit” looks like “No Child Left Behind” as applied to the atmosphere and is likely to have similarly dismal results.