New Zealand once seriously proposed taxing farmers for the methane gas produced by their livestock's burps and flatulence in an attempt to combat climate change.

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New Zealand once seriously proposed taxing farmers for the methane gas produced by their livestock's burps and flatulence in an attempt to combat climate change. Since agriculture is a massive part of their economy and cows produce a staggering amount of greenhouse gases, the government decided that the most logical capitalist solution was to put a literal price tag on bovine bodily functions. Farmers obviously rioted at the prospect of paying a fart tax, arguing it would destroy their livelihoods and raise the price of dairy globally. It beautifully illustrates how modern economics tries to solve complex environmental catastrophes by just slapping a complex spreadsheet fee on nature, as if Mother Earth can be placated by a slight adjustment to the marginal tax rate of a herd of gassy sheep