The danger of offsets
Another Inconvenient Truth:One of the largest in its portfolio is a sprawling garbage dump outside of Springdale, Ark., from which TerraPass has purchased thousands of tons of gas reductions. The vast sloping mound of the Tontitown landfill rises near stands of bare-limbed hickory and oak trees, with the blue Ozark foothills in the background. The decomposing trash generates methane, a gas 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere, melting glaciers and raising ocean levels. Waste Management Inc., (WMI ) the huge garbage processor that operates the facility, tends nearly 90 wells dotting the trash mountain, each giving off a barely audible hiss as it sucks methane from the depths of the landfill and delivers the gas to a single towering flare. Once torched, the gas is released into the atmosphere as less-damaging co2. But company officials and Arkansas environmental regulators say Waste Management began to burn methane, and continues to do so, for reasons having nothing to do with TerraPass' offsets.
This article speaks to additionality (doing it for a reason or doing it because you were going to do it anyway), as well as the value of independent third-party verifiers (like what we do). Also, there's a difference between for-profit and non-profit sellers of carbon offsets. The problem with all of this is that for the ignorant (for the ones not willing to do a lot of research), they just write it all off.
I'm working within my organisation to reduce carbon. The nature of the work we do helps with that. But if you're driving and flying around the country to reduce electricity emissions, how much good are you really doing? That's something that I will have to figure out at a later investigation (what our net carbon reduction is), but in general, my company is fairly low carbon-intensive, even considering the amount of commuting that is done.
We're also looking for work to consult with companies to reduce their footprints. Our strength is electricity and fuel demand management, programs, and utility-level demand control programmes. If you're interested in this, put me in touch with someone at your organisation.
The problem with offsets is the mentality. Just like the electric car mentality. It is still a marriage to a conservation of lifestyle. It isn't a shift in mentality or lifestyle to drive an electric car. It is, though, to ride a bike, buy locally, and consider those sorts of things (just the hills will change your idea of what a 'nice' house is...). And I'm trying to avoid being holier-than-thou and preaching, but I don't know how successful I'll be.
As they say in the article, offsets are a way for businesses to be 'chequebook environmentalists'. Pay for your sins, but don't stop sinning. For me, I'd rather not do the crime than to continuously do it and pay the consequences (why go to gaol if you don't have to?). It is a bit easier, I'd say. But that requires the mental shift. Instead of saying 'I can't', I've made changes to facilitate saying 'I can'.
This shift is different for everyone. And that's something I need to highlight. What works for me may not work for you. And what works for you may not work for me. The trick is to just evaluate and be conscious of what you're doing, purchasing, consuming, or otherwise interacting with. I am reaping the benefits of minimising car use: gas prices are of no material concern to me. I am free from that yoke. But not everyone lives in the inner city and works in the inner city. And that isn't possible for many. How did I do it? Well, a big part was from an inheritance, but the other costs that I have managed to save are material.
In the case of purchasing a house (something many of my generation are currently doing): if you live close to work, the time and money you save from not driving adds up... quickly. And if you value your time (just use your hourly rate as an example), add that in to your commute time. Living closer to work saves you X$/day. Add that into your mortgage... call it a family premium: a price you're willing to pay to spend those extra hours with your family (or friends).
Most car insurance companies give you a discount for 'recreational' driving. I definitely drive recreationally. I will turn over 100K on my car in the next month or so (I have about 80 miles left) on a 1994 car. Some insurance companies have batted around the notion of charging you by the mile. I haven't found that to be an option yet, but I look forward to it: that's yet another reward for driving less.
Calculate the amount of fuel you'll save, and over the next 5 years, ratchet the cost/gal up every year by about a 1$. Add that up... figure out the monthly cost. Add that in to what you can afford in your mortgage or rent. This will be a significant number in the near future. Essentially double your current fuel bill and figure that into your mortgage.
Most people I know who live in the suburbs do it to save 200$-300$/mo. I can tell you, it is easy to make that up if you care to live in an urban area (which is a matter of preference). In Portland, suburbs have higher property taxes (a function of a stupid measure enacted in 1990). Sometimes that differential may be the difference between a 200k$ and a 230k$ house. Of course, finding a 230K$ house in urban Portland would be a feat unto itself. And I'm not going to get into buying strategies because A) I don't really know them well enough and B) it is beyond the scope of a carbon-offsets-and-saving-money post.
I've digressed a bit, but what I'm saying is that with money, like with offsets, one needs to consider the whole picture and what they can do to carve out a little chunk. Saving money saves carbon. Saving carbon saves money. It shouldn't be something that is expensive: it is a decrease in waste.
As a friend on Facebook said the other day: There's more than just recycling. And it is true. But for some, recycling is the first step, and we have to celebrate those victories just as much as those of us who are pushing the envelope.
This article speaks to additionality (doing it for a reason or doing it because you were going to do it anyway), as well as the value of independent third-party verifiers (like what we do). Also, there's a difference between for-profit and non-profit sellers of carbon offsets. The problem with all of this is that for the ignorant (for the ones not willing to do a lot of research), they just write it all off.
I'm working within my organisation to reduce carbon. The nature of the work we do helps with that. But if you're driving and flying around the country to reduce electricity emissions, how much good are you really doing? That's something that I will have to figure out at a later investigation (what our net carbon reduction is), but in general, my company is fairly low carbon-intensive, even considering the amount of commuting that is done.
We're also looking for work to consult with companies to reduce their footprints. Our strength is electricity and fuel demand management, programs, and utility-level demand control programmes. If you're interested in this, put me in touch with someone at your organisation.
The problem with offsets is the mentality. Just like the electric car mentality. It is still a marriage to a conservation of lifestyle. It isn't a shift in mentality or lifestyle to drive an electric car. It is, though, to ride a bike, buy locally, and consider those sorts of things (just the hills will change your idea of what a 'nice' house is...). And I'm trying to avoid being holier-than-thou and preaching, but I don't know how successful I'll be.
As they say in the article, offsets are a way for businesses to be 'chequebook environmentalists'. Pay for your sins, but don't stop sinning. For me, I'd rather not do the crime than to continuously do it and pay the consequences (why go to gaol if you don't have to?). It is a bit easier, I'd say. But that requires the mental shift. Instead of saying 'I can't', I've made changes to facilitate saying 'I can'.
This shift is different for everyone. And that's something I need to highlight. What works for me may not work for you. And what works for you may not work for me. The trick is to just evaluate and be conscious of what you're doing, purchasing, consuming, or otherwise interacting with. I am reaping the benefits of minimising car use: gas prices are of no material concern to me. I am free from that yoke. But not everyone lives in the inner city and works in the inner city. And that isn't possible for many. How did I do it? Well, a big part was from an inheritance, but the other costs that I have managed to save are material.
In the case of purchasing a house (something many of my generation are currently doing): if you live close to work, the time and money you save from not driving adds up... quickly. And if you value your time (just use your hourly rate as an example), add that in to your commute time. Living closer to work saves you X$/day. Add that into your mortgage... call it a family premium: a price you're willing to pay to spend those extra hours with your family (or friends).
Most car insurance companies give you a discount for 'recreational' driving. I definitely drive recreationally. I will turn over 100K on my car in the next month or so (I have about 80 miles left) on a 1994 car. Some insurance companies have batted around the notion of charging you by the mile. I haven't found that to be an option yet, but I look forward to it: that's yet another reward for driving less.
Calculate the amount of fuel you'll save, and over the next 5 years, ratchet the cost/gal up every year by about a 1$. Add that up... figure out the monthly cost. Add that in to what you can afford in your mortgage or rent. This will be a significant number in the near future. Essentially double your current fuel bill and figure that into your mortgage.
Most people I know who live in the suburbs do it to save 200$-300$/mo. I can tell you, it is easy to make that up if you care to live in an urban area (which is a matter of preference). In Portland, suburbs have higher property taxes (a function of a stupid measure enacted in 1990). Sometimes that differential may be the difference between a 200k$ and a 230k$ house. Of course, finding a 230K$ house in urban Portland would be a feat unto itself. And I'm not going to get into buying strategies because A) I don't really know them well enough and B) it is beyond the scope of a carbon-offsets-and-saving-money post.
I've digressed a bit, but what I'm saying is that with money, like with offsets, one needs to consider the whole picture and what they can do to carve out a little chunk. Saving money saves carbon. Saving carbon saves money. It shouldn't be something that is expensive: it is a decrease in waste.
As a friend on Facebook said the other day: There's more than just recycling. And it is true. But for some, recycling is the first step, and we have to celebrate those victories just as much as those of us who are pushing the envelope.