Television personality Rick Steves, host of the travel series Rick Steves’ Europe, is endorsing the idea of “carbon taxes” by paying one of his own, CBS reports.
Believing in the unsubstantiated claims of “global warming” affecting the environment, Steves – whose show has actively encouraged Americans to travel to Europe – announced that his company will begin donating $1 million every year to a variety of global warming groups.
Steves explained his rationale, saying that “We either need to be ethical or we need the government to force us to be ethical, or there’s not going to be any travelers around in a hundred years.”
Steves’ company leads roughly 30,000 people on tours of Europe every year, and his television series has been on the air since September of 2000. He said that he calculated the $1 million specifically to offset the carbon emissions of 30,000 flights between Europe and the United States.
Steves further expressed his support for government-mandated carbon taxes, saying that “I really think the way to do this is by government-imposed carbon taxes. If we had a carbon tax on air travel, travelers would be more honest.” He further downplayed the significance of travel for regular citizens, rhetorically asking “Should we be jetting all over the country to see football games, and going to people’s weddings and anniversaries?”