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It’s late at night. Much later, in fact, than it should be. Your partner (you hope) is fast
asleep. After cutting the lights and engine you coast into the driveway, and then tiptoe
across the floor with your shoes in one hand. As you step out of the shower you pause to
hear whether anyone is stirring. Confident you’ve not been heard, you towel off, stuff your
clothes into the bottom of the hamper, and slip silently in to bed.
Under any other circumstances you might lay awake, steeped in guilt because of what you
have just done. It’s the first time you’ve ever been unfaithful, but since learning about the
new offset program it probably won’t be your last. After just a few moments of listening to
the peaceful breathing of your true love, you drift off into a remorseless sleep.
Sure your infidelity was premeditated, and sure, you knew on some (well most) levels that it
was wrong, but you were also thrilled when you found out that there is now a way to
neutralize it. As the website said, “When you cheat on your partner you add to the
heartbreak, pain and jealousy in the atmosphere. Cheatneutral offsets your cheating by
funding someone else to be faithful and NOT cheat. This neutralises the pain and unhappy
emotion and leaves you with a clear conscience.”
Alright, alright. I’m messing with you. But there REALLY is a website out there called
CheatNeutral (see www.cheatneutral.com), and those guys ARE making some really good
points. Really.
With tongue in cheek they are alluding to the very real misuse of carbon offset programs by
those of us (whether corporations or individuals), who somehow think it’s okay to just keep
on emitting lots of greenhouse gases (or other pollution) as long as we pay to have it
neutralized. First of all, that’s missing the point.
And second, that strategy won’t get us any closer to reducing our overall personal or global
emissions. Two things we must absolutely do, unless climate change is something we’re
hoping to help accelerate.
If we don’t FIRST work on reducing our emissions at the source then we’ve not done all we
can. It’s the same as trying to reduce your debt by spending only as much as you make.
You won’t increase your debt that way, but you won’t decrease it either. You’ll be essentially
running in place.
Legitimate versions of things like Renewable Energy Credits and green power from utilities
are very useful, but only if they’re used as a last resort for things you can’t eliminate through
conservation, efficiency, or actual renewable energy systems. They are useful only when
they’re viewed as temporary measures while you’re working on a more effective long-term
strategy for cutting your carbon footprint.
We’re not in the third grade and this isn’t recess, so there’s no such thing as a “do-over”
when it comes to carbon emissions. We can’t just consume vast amounts of natural
resources, buy everything in sight, live in over-sized homes, guzzle up barrels of fossil
fuels, drive and fly all over the ding dong place, eat tractor trailers full of food from half-way
around the world, and then just buy some offsets and think we’re living green.
That’s like calling someone stupid and then saying, “Hey I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” When
you’re not. Or the Brooklyn version, “You’re sister’s a fat cow. Oooh. Aaay. No
disrespect.” Doing something bad, whether it’s cheating on your partner, saying
something mean, or being responsible for lots of greenhouse gas emissions is still bad.
Saying you’re sorry just means you’re sorry. It doesn’t make it better.
So what IS the point? Am I telling you not to buy renewable energy credits? No, I’m not.
Are all carbon offset programs a scam? No. But don’t be an idiot about it either. (No
disrespect.) Just like with anything else people tell you, use your discretion and common
sense. Many programs are third-party certified. Some promote projects that have a bigger
impact than others. You decide.
But before all that…have a vision for the kind of world you want to be a part of creating.
What would an ideal community look like? What role do YOU want to play in getting us
there? How would it feel to really be part of the solution, rather than the problem?
Next evaluate where your greatest source of personal emissions are, since that picture
looks different for everyone. You can use a quick and dirty online carbon calculator (such
as this one on the Green Heart Institute site), to see if it’s your driving, flying, or household
energy use that poses the greatest threat. Don’t forget about the hidden sources of
greenhouse gas emissions, too. Everything we purchase has a history…it has to be
manufactured and transported…all the while using energy.
Go for the low-hanging fruit and make changes that involve minimal cost and effort. Install
the CFLs, drive a little less, eat more locally, and fiddle with the thermostat. And then think
big. Take a hard, honest look at your life and lifestyle. Maybe it’s getting time to downsize
the house. Maybe you could telecommute, change jobs, or move closer to work or the
parents. Perhaps digging up the Kentucky bluegrass in the front yard and planting veggies
and a few fruit trees makes better use of that water you’re paying for.
Let’s make real changes, or at least get a strategy in place, so that we have honest
relationships with our carbon offsets, and not sordid affairs that miss the point. And THEN
we can check out programs like the very cool, and very real, Boulder County Wind
Challenge and feel really good about it.
© 2007 JENNIFER H. WHITE, ROOT SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, LLC ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
asleep. After cutting the lights and engine you coast into the driveway, and then tiptoe
across the floor with your shoes in one hand. As you step out of the shower you pause to
hear whether anyone is stirring. Confident you’ve not been heard, you towel off, stuff your
clothes into the bottom of the hamper, and slip silently in to bed.
Under any other circumstances you might lay awake, steeped in guilt because of what you
have just done. It’s the first time you’ve ever been unfaithful, but since learning about the
new offset program it probably won’t be your last. After just a few moments of listening to
the peaceful breathing of your true love, you drift off into a remorseless sleep.
Sure your infidelity was premeditated, and sure, you knew on some (well most) levels that it
was wrong, but you were also thrilled when you found out that there is now a way to
neutralize it. As the website said, “When you cheat on your partner you add to the
heartbreak, pain and jealousy in the atmosphere. Cheatneutral offsets your cheating by
funding someone else to be faithful and NOT cheat. This neutralises the pain and unhappy
emotion and leaves you with a clear conscience.”
Alright, alright. I’m messing with you. But there REALLY is a website out there called
CheatNeutral (see www.cheatneutral.com), and those guys ARE making some really good
points. Really.
With tongue in cheek they are alluding to the very real misuse of carbon offset programs by
those of us (whether corporations or individuals), who somehow think it’s okay to just keep
on emitting lots of greenhouse gases (or other pollution) as long as we pay to have it
neutralized. First of all, that’s missing the point.
And second, that strategy won’t get us any closer to reducing our overall personal or global
emissions. Two things we must absolutely do, unless climate change is something we’re
hoping to help accelerate.
If we don’t FIRST work on reducing our emissions at the source then we’ve not done all we
can. It’s the same as trying to reduce your debt by spending only as much as you make.
You won’t increase your debt that way, but you won’t decrease it either. You’ll be essentially
running in place.
Legitimate versions of things like Renewable Energy Credits and green power from utilities
are very useful, but only if they’re used as a last resort for things you can’t eliminate through
conservation, efficiency, or actual renewable energy systems. They are useful only when
they’re viewed as temporary measures while you’re working on a more effective long-term
strategy for cutting your carbon footprint.
We’re not in the third grade and this isn’t recess, so there’s no such thing as a “do-over”
when it comes to carbon emissions. We can’t just consume vast amounts of natural
resources, buy everything in sight, live in over-sized homes, guzzle up barrels of fossil
fuels, drive and fly all over the ding dong place, eat tractor trailers full of food from half-way
around the world, and then just buy some offsets and think we’re living green.
That’s like calling someone stupid and then saying, “Hey I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” When
you’re not. Or the Brooklyn version, “You’re sister’s a fat cow. Oooh. Aaay. No
disrespect.” Doing something bad, whether it’s cheating on your partner, saying
something mean, or being responsible for lots of greenhouse gas emissions is still bad.
Saying you’re sorry just means you’re sorry. It doesn’t make it better.
So what IS the point? Am I telling you not to buy renewable energy credits? No, I’m not.
Are all carbon offset programs a scam? No. But don’t be an idiot about it either. (No
disrespect.) Just like with anything else people tell you, use your discretion and common
sense. Many programs are third-party certified. Some promote projects that have a bigger
impact than others. You decide.
But before all that…have a vision for the kind of world you want to be a part of creating.
What would an ideal community look like? What role do YOU want to play in getting us
there? How would it feel to really be part of the solution, rather than the problem?
Next evaluate where your greatest source of personal emissions are, since that picture
looks different for everyone. You can use a quick and dirty online carbon calculator (such
as this one on the Green Heart Institute site), to see if it’s your driving, flying, or household
energy use that poses the greatest threat. Don’t forget about the hidden sources of
greenhouse gas emissions, too. Everything we purchase has a history…it has to be
manufactured and transported…all the while using energy.
Go for the low-hanging fruit and make changes that involve minimal cost and effort. Install
the CFLs, drive a little less, eat more locally, and fiddle with the thermostat. And then think
big. Take a hard, honest look at your life and lifestyle. Maybe it’s getting time to downsize
the house. Maybe you could telecommute, change jobs, or move closer to work or the
parents. Perhaps digging up the Kentucky bluegrass in the front yard and planting veggies
and a few fruit trees makes better use of that water you’re paying for.
Let’s make real changes, or at least get a strategy in place, so that we have honest
relationships with our carbon offsets, and not sordid affairs that miss the point. And THEN
we can check out programs like the very cool, and very real, Boulder County Wind
Challenge and feel really good about it.
© 2007 JENNIFER H. WHITE, ROOT SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, LLC ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Avoiding an Affair with Carbon Offsets: How Not to Miss the Point
by Jennifer White
by Jennifer White
© 1997-2008 JENNIFER H. WHITE, ROOT SYSTEMS INSTITUTE, LLC ~ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED HOME | ABOUT | SERVICES | RESOURCES | CONTACT |
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| When you cheat on your partner you add to the heartbreak, pain and jealousy in the atmosphere. Cheatneutral offsets your cheating by funding someone else to be faithful and NOT cheat. This neutralises the pain and unhappy emotion and leaves you with a clear conscience. ~ CheatNeutral Website www.cheatneutral.com |