Al Gore and Carbon Offsets

ABC News ^ | 2/27/2007 | Moneyrunner

[moneyrunner]

Note that the people who are at the forefront of the environmental movement, men like Al Gore and the Hollywood glitterati who gave him a standing ovation for this environmental stands were not even momentarily inconvenienced by the rules they have tried to have the rest of the planet adopt. The arrived by private plane and stretch limousine, to over-lighted and air-conditioned auditoriums, to see and be seen by millions of Americans via carbon destroying video systems without even a thought to the impact of their wretched excess on the planet.

But hypocrisy is really not the danger here. We are all hypocrites, each of us pretending to be better than we are. The danger is that the use of “carbon offsets” will create two things that re morally monstrous: a de-facto sumptuary law and the impoverishments of the poor and powerless of this planet.

The creation of an aristocratic elite that differentiates itself from the hoi polloi by its ability to buy “carbon offsets” while the rest of the planet is forced by environmental laws into a smaller and smaller carbon straightjacket is not so far fetched. What is government run by the environmentalists of Gore’s stripe to do if the people won’t give up their wasteful SUVs?

“There ought to be a law” will be the battle cry from the Federal agencies, the green groups, the obscenely rich and the publishers of the leading MSM voices (whose owners are summering on their Hampton estates). And who will have the resources to buy out of the environmental sumptuary laws? Why the likes of Al Gore, the Hollywood mega-millionaires and those who inherit media empires.

[moneyrunner]

The problem with "carbon offsets" is potentially huge, but most free-marketers are unaware of the dangers.

[rocksblues]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_offset
According to this Al is donating to plant more trees.

[moneyrunner]

They also produce more CO2 when they decay than they consume when they are alive. From your link.

It looks as if planting trees creates more CO2 leading to more gobal warming.

[No Truce With Kings]

Smell like indulgences to me. Environmentalism resembles religion more and more each day.

[Suzy Quzy]

WHAT company is AlGORE using and how much are they charging AL BAby, and WHAT are they doing with that money???

[rocksblues]

He doesnt't care. He is purchasing Carbon Off-Sets so according to him the debate is over!

[TChad]

Iowahawk offers a solution.

[kidd]

According to this Al is donating to plant more trees.

There is a bit of circular logic here that bothers me:
1. The United States is the largest producer of CO2.
2. However, if trees are taken into account, the United States is a net consumer of CO2.
3. The Kyoto treaty seeks to reduce the amount of CO2 that is produced. It does not seek a change in net CO2.
4. Thus, the Kyoto treaty establishes that the United States is the worst offender of the treaty.
5. The same Kyoto treaty establishes a system to trade carbon credits. The system allows those who produce too much carbon to purchase carbon offsets.
6. Al Gore's carbon offsets are being used to plant trees.

So: The funds from the carbon offsets, a CO2-reduction vehicle established by Kyoto, are being used to purchase trees to reduce CO2, a concept that is not recognized by Kyoto.