The Truth about Carbon Offsets

Done right, carbon offsets are an effective way for individuals and businesses to lessen their climate impact and help stop climate change.

http://blog.conservation.org/2010/04/truth-about-carbon-offsets/

Comments

This is a crock of shit

Seconded. The man-made climate change hypothesis is spotty at best, but much worse, it's being used as an excuse for expanding governmental control over our lives.

I agree with the fear4freedom and LS69653.
Im really starting to have my doubts about Ed. I thought he was a little smarter than to fall for this bull shit. Is there climate change? Yes.. But that doesn't mean it's man thats causing it. There was climate change before the industrial revolution and carbon dioxide is what plants and trees need to survive.

You have to be pretty naive if you don't believe that man's simultaneous increase in carbon emmisions and the Earth increasingly rapid warming are not related. Does global warming happen naturally? Absolutley. Does it move this rapidly naturally? Never in the history of this planet. Seems like a pretty big coincidence. But regardless, even if it is a natural process, it is harmful to humanity and it's civilizations, so why not try to slow it down if possible?

Perhaps Vitalogy track 3 is in order here.

someones been watching a little too much fox news apparently

It is important to do your research. Carbon has a natural cycle, but that cycle takes well over hundreds of years. we are putting so much carbon into the environment that the trees and oceans cannot possibly absorb it at the current rate. a 1 degree change in surface temperature of the ocean has a great impact on the oceans ability to absorb carbon thus leaving more and more of it in the environment. The loss of forest canopy adds to the inability of the earth to absorb the levels of carbon that are being spewed out daily.

no one is discussing the related problems of environmental change - the role of security and governments. Low lying areas of the world, such as bangladesh lying in the ganges delta could become completely flooded. The increasingly closed-off governments in southeast asia and north america will react by closing their borders. Can the world sustain mass migrations of people from disaster areas to safe areas? Canada has announced the deportation of 18000 citizens; the US has famously closed their borders to mexicans and many other world communities.

Read: Simon Dalby "Security & Environmental Change"

There are issues with carbon offsets - but that has to do with buyer beware of corporate interests. There were stories that Air Canada had offered carbon offsets for their flights - taking the money to plant new trees. The only issue was that they contracted that work out to a group who cut down old-growth forest to make room for those new trees. we need to be careful and do our research. but, we lose heat energy with light, it doesnt mean we turn off the lights.