Neutralize Your Pollution; Fight Global Warming

Environmental Defense ^ | Environmental Defense

[Winged Hussar]

You can neutralize the rest of your pollution—through offsets. When you buy offsets, you essentially pay someone to reduce or remove global warming pollution in your name.

For example, when you buy 10 tons of carbon offsets, the seller guarantees that 10 fewer tons of global warming pollution go into the atmosphere. While the pollution you produce yourself is the same, you get the credit for that 10-ton reduction.

[kcvl]

How do they keep 'score' of how many 'carbon credits' one uses?!!! These people are IDIOTS!

I heard a talking head Democrat say that Al Gore has 'bought' carbon credits so it's okay if he flys around the country in a private jet and owns several homes. They must think people are as stupid as they are!


One of the 'leaders' of this 'movement' in the United States is from CANADA?!!!


*******



For a list of Gold Standard vendors, please see the Resources section under "Gold Standard Vendors".





Brief Biography

David T. Suzuki PhD, Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster.

David has received consistently high acclaim for his 30 years of award-winning work in broadcasting, explaining the complexities of science in a compelling, easily understood way. He is well known to millions as the host of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's popular science television series, The Nature of Things.

His eight part series, A Planet for the Taking won an award from the United Nations. His eight-part PBS series The Secret of Life was praised internationally, as was his five-part series The Brain for the Discovery Channel. For CBC Radio he founded the long running radio series, Quirks and Quarks and has presented two influential documentary series on the environment, From Naked Ape to Superspecies and It's a Matter of Survival.

[Kay Ludlow]

Hey - if they can get the gaia worshipers and others on the left to spend their personal money of carbon offsets, more power to them! It's a market based mechanism for them to assuage their guilt at being Americans, and the more the spend offsetting their carbon footprint, the less they have to give to the radical organizations that are trying to force all of us to do them same.

[kcvl]

The UK government is to set standards for carbon offsetting schemes to bring "greater clarity" to the industry.

The move comes as an increasing number of consumers try to limit the environmental impact of actions such as driving a car or flying by plane.

However, carbon offsetting schemes have been attacked for a lack of transparency and inconsistent prices.

Environment Secretary David Miliband said the voluntary standards would help consumers pick "genuine" projects.

Trees and bulbs

There are a number of ways that consumers can offset their carbon emissions, including paying for trees to be planted and buying energy-efficient light bulbs for use in developing nations.

The worry for the government has been that the benefits of many of the projects have proved difficult to verify and may be open to abuse.

[gondramB]

I wonder...

How long will it be before a large enough market and high enough prices developes so that it becomes profitable to be willing to shut down a business so you can promise to cut carbon use and thus sell the carbon credits.

[azhenfud]

Airbus is a big contributor to carbon in the air. They mix theirs with fiber and call it a plane.

[BigBobber]

According to their carbon calculator, the "footprint" for my 2-person household is 27 metric tons/year. The most expensive offset cost is $8/ton, so my annual cost for "zero carbon pollution" is $216/year. So why the heck would I buy a Prius for $5000 extra to offset $1100 (for 5 years) carbon emissions for 2 cars plus a house plus air travel?

This carbon offset thing is going to bite the eco-mongers in the butt if they don't get their numbers straight!

[kcvl]

The new standards will be based only on projects that can be certified, including flexible schemes agreed under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

Since the United States didn't sign it we can IGNORE it which I plan to continue doing. I think we have planted enough trees to offset any 'harm' my family has done to this planet. PUKE!

They can all shove it as far as I'm concerned.

[Gorzaloon]

"You can neutralize the rest of your pollution—through offsets. When you buy offsets, you essentially pay someone to reduce or remove global warming pollution in your name. "

< AOL > SEND THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!! < /AOL >

Here is how it works. This was on Oprah, and the USPS says it is LEGAL!

When you buy six offsets, you sell each of them to six friends. Each of them buys six more and sends you back one!

You sell these to six more friends, who do the same thing!

At the end of six months, you will own 2/3 of ALL the Carbon Offsets on the Planet!!!

Now you can sell huge blocks of them to ENRON, SHELL, MOBILE, GENERAL MOTORS, etc. and then be able to buy up the remaining third of all offsets, thereby RULING THE WORLD.

Warmest Personal Regards, Energy Minister Reverend Dr. Field Marshal Mguu Mkimbe.

[Reform4Bush]

I'm all for reducing pollution, recycling and other efforts to reduce the impact we impose upon the planet.

I'm against using the human induced global warming hogwash to accomplish that end result. In fact, it actually makes me want to pollute more.

If the Greenies stand up and advocate reduce, reuse and recycle for the sake of reducing our impact and being environmentally friendly, I'm in whole heartedly.

When they try fear mongering based on psuedo science and try to stifle the debate over their ridiculous claims - I will refuse, resist and ridicule.

[Winged Hussar]

I HAVE to borrow this; it is funny (AND ACCURATE).

[Mygirlsmom]

You could also flush $216 down tht toilet and have exactly the same impact.

[kcar]

To Whomever receives this:

I have half a gazillion carbon offsets. Unfortunately I can not transfer them out of Nigeria...

[!1776!]

How long will it be before a large enough market and high enough prices developes so that it becomes profitable to be willing to shut down a business so you can promise to cut carbon use and thus sell the carbon credits.

There are examples of other emission trading programs that could probably be researched to find an answer. Offsets for non-attainment areas (see Houston for example) can get pricey.

A better question is when will high enough prices develop so that it will be profitable to shut down a business, sell carbon credits for profit, and then re-open the business (under a different "name" ofcourse) in a country that could care less about CO2 emissions.

Not that I think that some nations that are excused from CO2 emission requirements under Kyoto, even if they are large producers of CO2, and projected to have CO2 emissions which exceed those from the U.S in the near future, would use their preffered status to benefit their economy at the expense of ours. They obviously understand that the U.N., the E.U., the NRDC, etc., know what is best and will voluntarily give up their developing prosperity for the common good of the world...

[Nip]

Why does the image of Elmer Gantry, Jerry Falwell, and others keep popping into my mind?

If they promised a health benefit the FDA would be all over their collective ***s. But since it is dealing with global warming and “carbon offsets” I guess they aren’t selling snake oil.

[panaxanax]

Here's more for your ping list, Diana.

Incredibly funny on dog, cat and even Reindeer farts. Not any Reindeer. These are Santa's Reindeer Carbon Credits. Go figure?

http://shop.easybeinggreen.com.au/categories.asp?cID=106

[panaxanax]

"The Sydney-based Easy Being Green says it will mitigate your cat's flatulent contribution to global warming for 8 Australian dollars, or $6. The same company could also make your granny "carbon-neutral" at 10 dollars a year, according to a report in the Australian newspaper last weekend."

[Gorzaloon]

I HAVE to borrow this; it is funny (AND ACCURATE).

Just send it to six friends, and we'll split it 50-50! :-)

[Stegall Tx]

I was reading up on this last night. It seems that I have 20 CO2e's from not putting cattle on my farm this year. I'm starting to try and find some way to "authenticate" that number and I'll put them on eBay sometime later this year.

And you guys are cheap! The "greenhouse gas offsets" on eBay start at $24.95 for one tonne (discounts for larger quantities).

Of course, the profits go to indigenous peoples in Africa, so it's all worth it.

[gondramB]

>> There are examples of other emission trading programs that could probably be researched to find an answer. Offsets for non-attainment areas (see Houston for example) can get pricey.

A better question is when will high enough prices develop so that it will be profitable to shut down a business, sell carbon credits for profit, and then re-open the business (under a different "name" ofcourse) in a country that could care less about CO2 emissions. <<

Sadly, I suspect you are right - this could become a profitable new line of "investment" that would actually have negative productivity for the country... very sad.

[Winged Hussar]

Aluminum companies in California have already shut down operations to resell electricity (for which they had locked-in contracts) when prices went sky-high a few years ago. In other words, California economics turned them from manufacturers into non-value-adding middlemen. To their credit, I don't think they laid off their workers; they just sent them home and kept paying them.