I’ve never quite understood the point of carbon credits, in which consumers pay a third party a specified fee to lessen the impact of their carbon footprint by theoretically removing an equivalent amount of greenhouse gas from our environment. Credit, by its very definition, is a contractual agreement in which a borrower receives something of value now and agrees to repay the lender at a later date. The value (in this case) is all of the energy that we’ve gobbled up living our free-wheeling lifestyles, but in addition, we receive bonus value-fulfillment-points by thinking that our money is securing us an active membership in the planet healers club. The lender in this formula is clearly Mother Nature. Thanks to the exchange of a monetary sum with a hired third party, we tell ourselves that Mother Nature will be paid back in some way in some manner in the near future. Um, we’re not so sure how, but we have the written certificates to prove that the deal is sealed, so…..there ya go…it’s all good.
Skeptics argue that no matter the financial profile of a consumer, offsets merely wipe away their eco-guilt while enabling irresponsible and oftentimes wasteful lifestyles to continue. For many, the idea of deflecting climate change is so abstract that taking things into their own hands (and possibly breaking a sweat) is an especially unpleasant notion. Isn’t America built on the philosophy that TIME IS MONEY, and since our time is exceedingly valuable to us, it just makes more sense to pay someone to take care of the dirty work for us?!?
For those of us who subscribe to the carbon credit philosophy (which is certainly better than doing nothing at all), common offsets for sale include:
- renewable energy generated from wind farms
- methane captured from landfills or livestock
- reforestation and agriculture carbon sequestration projects that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
- the displacement of fossil fuels via solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass energy installations
It all sounds admittedly interesting in theory — and the above projects would appear to have merit — but wouldn’t it be more sensible to simply refrain from engaging in carbon-heavy activities altogether? Hmmm….perhaps that’s easier said than done.
To put things into perspective, the average American citizen generates an estimated 20 tons of carbon per year compared to citizens in India who use a little over 1 ton in the same span of time. What on Earth are we doing to tip the scales so radically?!?! Most of us aren’t purging our backyards of their coal deposits and engaging in nightly ‘What-the-hell-let’s-have-a-coal-bonfire’ cookout(s)! The non-profit group Time For Change (www.timeforchange.org) helps eco-neophytes understand that our current problem is far removed from that black crumbly substance that no one wants to find in their Christmas stocking.
They define a carbon footprint as “the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).” In layman’s terms, that means that the amount of CO2 that a person generates within the span of one year (whether commuting to work, purchasing basic necessities, heating their home, using a computer, traveling internationally, etc.) reaaaaaaaally adds up – and those who are especially concerned about their impact on the environment can constantly tweak their personal carbon footprint by making more informed lifestyle choices.
By virtue of the fact that we live and breathe, we do release a lot of carbon dioxide, however, many of us might be hard-pressed to nip and tuck the ‘offending’ activities that we engage in on a regular basis. Some of the simple pleasures in our lives are perhaps the worst offenders on the CO2 scale. For the sake of environmental enlightenment, here are a few cold, harsh realities that may help you rethink the choices that you make each day:
- For every 1 million bottles of water that are manufactured and shipped, 18.2 tons of CO2 emissions are released into the air. USE THE PERFECTLY GOOD H20 FROM YOUR FAUCET!!! Check here for the EPA’s reports on drinking water quality in across the country: (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html)
- 20 pounds of carbon dioxide is released with every gallon of fuel that your vehicle uses. IF YOU MUST DRIVE, CONSOLIDATE YOUR TRIPS AND DRIVE LESS AGGRESSIVELY. OR, START USING A BICYCLE/YOUR OWN TWO LEGS TO RUN LOCAL ERRANDS.
- The yearly greenhouse gases that result from the production and consumption of cheeseburgers is roughly the amount emitted by 6.5 million to 19.6 million SUVs. LAY OFF OF THE EXCESSIVE CONSUMPTION OF MEAT – IT’S NOT HEALTHY FOR YOUR BODY AND YOU CAN FIND OODLES OF ALTERNATIVE PLANT PROTEIN SOURCES THAT TASTE PRETTY DARN GOOD!
- Each year, the production and delivery of junk mail creates more carbon than the emissions released by 9,372,000 million average passenger cars. REMOVE YOUR NAME FROM JUNK MAIL LISTS HERE: (http://www.govspot.com/ask/nameofflist.htm)
- If you leave your computer on 24 hours a day, it emits 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide in a year (which would require 100 to 500 trees to absorb) and can account for 25% of your energy bill. PLUG YOUR COMPUTER, MONITOR, PRINTER AND OTHER PERIPHERALS INTO A SURGE-PROTECTED POWER STRIP AND TURN EVERYTHING OFF VIA ONE SWITCH EVERY TIME YOU ARE DONE USING IT.
So…if thy sin, what is the cost of thy offense? On average, most companies that sell carbon offsets have comparable services but the dollar amount that they charge per credit is all over the board. You can spend as little as $5.50 per metric ton of carbon dioxide at www.carbonfund.org all the way up to approximately $10/ton at www.terrapass.com and $13/ton at www.nativeenergy.com. (A handy-dandy table of carbon offset business features and costs can be reviewed here: http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm).
Does ‘doing right by the planet’ have to involve tapping into your bank account? Not necessarily. The most effective way to reduce one’s carbon footprint involves conserving energy. Yes, it’s that simple. For inspiration, check out the EPA’s suggestions for saving energy (http://www.epa.gov/earthday/tips-saveenergy.htm) or this array of conservation-themed tips (http://www.globalstewards.org/conserve-energy.htm). Other ways to make an impact include using items more than just once, planting trees (http://www.slate.com/id/2181499/), recycling, demoting your consumer status and living more conservatively in general!
PLEASE — if you are a AgriGuider who cares about making a change for the better, share some of your ideas below on how we can all lessen the impact of our carbon footprint(s).
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