My windfall tax on energy companies idea picks up steam!

I was intrigued to see that the Guardian’s front page story yesterday (see also http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/05/oil.mining ) reveals that Drax, British Gas et al are arguing against a windfall tax on their obscene profits, on the grounds that such a tax would allegedly prevent them investing in measures to 'green' their activities. They quote a spokesman for British Gas as saying that such 'green' technologies are very expensive, far more so than burning fossil fuels.
When and how are these corporations going to get the message that not investing in greener technologies will not only literally cost the earth, but will also cost them dear? It seems that the answer to that question is: Only if they are made to pay. In other words: the government must make it expensive to rely on burning fossil fuels. By, for example, levying every year -- and not just this year -- a swingeing tax on any profits made from burning these fast-depleting resources that are polluting our planetary life-support system...