Another more radical idea is ecological tax reform - shifting the tax burden onto less sustainable activities. For example, taxes should be reduced on labour and income, and increased on pollution and one-time use of virgin materials. Ecological Tax Reform. Zed Books, 1992. Green Budget Reform .
Many governments spend billions subsidizing car travel by building elaborate road networks.
By comparison, research budgets for alternative fuels and alternative community plans and transportation systems are just a drop in the bucket. Agriculture remains another problem area. Farmers in California's Central Valley for example pay next to nothing for water transported, at great distance and expense, to keep their economic livelihood from withering on the vine. Only recently was a rail transportation subsidy for Canadian Prairies grain removed despite its longstanding encouragement of overproduction and monoculture.