Posted on 06/09/2019 1:19:35 PM PDT by Libloather
**SNIP**
It depends. Some carbon-offset projects – which are supposed to compensate for the heat-trapping gases you release to the atmosphere by taking a plane trip, for example – are scams. In one notorious case, the Vatican was presented with offset certificates for millions of trees that were never planted.
Even if a project actually exists, offsets have the potential to go wrong in other ways. Say you’re promised that your purchase will help pay for a new wind farm, but then you learn that the wind farm was going to be built even without the help of offsets. You’d feel cheated, and rightly so. To truly compensate for your pollution, any offset project must be in addition to the normal course of business. For more on this problem and related complexities, see this NRDC overview.
To protect your wallet, you can buy offsets that have been authenticated by third-party certification programs, such as Verified Carbon Standard, Gold Standard, and Green-e Climate Standard. Those programs help confirm that projects actually exist and that you’re not wasting your money.
Some critics argue that offsets are the modern equivalent of “indulgences,” the practice of reducing punishment for sin that was commercialized and much-abused in the Middle Ages. I don’t buy that argument: The goal is to reduce the total amount of heat-trapping gases, and legitimate offset projects do that.
A more compelling criticism is that offsets often don’t address the root of the problem: the lack of cleaner transportation options. So far, the U.S. has largely chosen to build gas stations and airports rather than electric vehicle charging infrastructure and train stations. That makes it tough for most people to lighten their footprints.
(Excerpt) Read more at yaleclimateconnections.org ...
Does the Pope know that he is 18% carbon? How will he offset himself?
Carnival barkers are more honest.
Started to watch. Don’t really have the time. They began by chatting about some professor from Princeton - located in Pennsylvania. I’m out.
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