Carbon Offsetting

Carbon Offsetting; Is It Ethical?

By Beverly Saltonstall

Greenhouse gasses are the gases present in our atmosphere that both absorb and emit radiation. This is the driving force of the greenhouse effect which helps to maintain the current temperature on earth. Without greenhouse gasses life on earth would not be possible due to extreme cold conditions.

Water vapor H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O) methane (Ch4) and ozone (O3) are naturally occurring greenhouse gasses that are found in the atmosphere. Other greenhouse gasses found in our atmosphere are halocarbons, substances containing chlorine and bromine sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), perfluorocarbons, (PFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which are all human introduced.

The problem is that, humans are adding both good and bad greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere in far greater quantities than is needed to maintain this temperature balance.

Except for a few diehard radicals, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind how damaging the excess greenhouse gasses are to our environment. One solution to the problem that has been devised is to purchase carbon offsets. Every human on earth, every business, organization and city gives off carbon dioxide. The amount of that carbon dioxide that emitted is your carbon footprint.

While everyone would like to be carbon neutral, that is not always possible. Carbon offsets were developed to allow individuals and businesses to offset the amount of carbon dioxide they emit. This is done by contributing to greenhouse gas reduction projects that will help achieve the goal of clean energy in the future.

While reducing your carbon footprint at home is the right thing to do, supporting a project such as the construction of a wind farm can offer a greater benefit. The number of these carbon offset programs is growing as more and more people are trying to cut down on their impact on the environment and become carbon neutral.

The problem with this is two-fold. First off many dubious projects are sprouting up that claim to be reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Many of these projects would have been completed whether or not they received carbon offset monies.

The second problem is the ethics involved. A recent article in Newsweek Magazine used the term “checkbook environmentalists”. These are people and corporations who have big bucks to purchase carbon offsets. They often make no attempt at reducing the amount of carbon dioxide they generate. People who still drive huge SUV’s and corporations who and purchase carbon offsets while they are still polluting the environment, have many wondering about the ethics of such a practice.

In general, carbon offsetting is a step in the right direction. Calculating your carbon footprint should be your first step and making a decided effort to reduce your carbon footprint should be your first step. Then carefully choosing a reputable company from which to purchase your carbon offsets is the next step. As more and more programs are developed, that decision will become easier.

Since airline travel is one of the most gas-guzzling forms of passenger transportation, the airline industry is getting in on the lucrative carbon offset business. The San Francisco Airport about to be the first in the world to be providing kiosks where you can calculate the carbon load that your flight will generate, and allow you to purchase carbon offsets at that time. Virgin America is an airline that offers in flight opportunities to purchase carbon offsets.

A Google search for the term “carbon offset opportunities” will generate thousands off hits. Deciding on which company to choose from to purchase your carbon offsets will take some research, but the benefits will be worthwhile.

About the Author: Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer. Visit http://pollutionwebsite.com for news, podcasts, articles and guides covering many aspects of pollution. To understand pollution, read "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Pollution, But Never Dared to Ask". (available on website)

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Your Ecological Footprint: More Than CO2

Typical Earthship, an autonomous home using earth-filled tires.  It's own thermal mass is used to regulate temperature.

The term carbon footprint has been growing in popularity over the past several years, primarily due to the heightened awareness of climate change. A carbon footprint consists of the net greenhouse gases emitted by an entity, individual, organization or nation. Personal carbon calculators define a carbon footprint as the net carbon dioxide attributable to an individual over a one year period. Since there are many different greenhouse gases, the specific gas(es) must be converted to tonnes or kilograms of equivalent carbon dioxide.

Very often, the term carbon footprint is confused with another term called ecological footprint. Carbon footprint only considers net greenhouse gases emitted, whereas ecological footprint is much more encompassing. The ecological footprint is a calculation of productive land and water required by an individual, both in terms of usage and also to absorb wastes that the individual produces. A carbon footprint is specified in tonnes or kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent. An ecological footprint is expressed in terms of global hectares. An ecological footprint is broken into four consumption categories: carbon, goods and services, housing and food. The carbon category includes transportation and home energy use.
 
An ecological footprint can also be broken down by ecosystem types or biomes. These consist of forestland, pasture land, cropland and marine fisheries. In addition to consumption categories, waste must also be considered. Scientists have calculated the average per capita ecological footprint to be approximately 23.5 global hectares. On a renewable basis there are only 15.7 global hectares available meaning that we are collectively overshooting the Earth's ecological capacity by almost 50%.

There are several ways of reducing both an individual's carbon footprint and ecological footprint. One significant but controversial way is to shift from a meat to a vegetarian diet. According to a recent study, it was determined that a vegetarian diet was more environmentally friendly than a meat diet. It requires approximately 0.18 global hectares per person while a meat diet (high fat) requires almost five times as much, or 0.85 global hectares per person per year. There are many contributing factors for the meat diet, including deforestation and energy required for processing / transportation. And don't forget cow flatulence. Scientists have estimated that the meat consumption life cycle contributes 18% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. More emissions results in larger effect on the climate.

Another method of reducing one's ecological footprint is to buy local fresh food from farmers markets and preferably organically produced. It is important to eliminate transportation and refrigeration costs as much as possible. Organic foods eliminate the environmental impact of pesticides (including transportation and packaging). Farmers markets generally incorporate less packaging materials and food is fresh with no refrigeration or electricity requirements. More environmentally friendly all around.

When purchasing a new house there are many green initiatives that should be considered. Take advantage on the house orientation towards the sun for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. Consider rooftop gardens and soil-less turf on outside walls as was showcased by the Beijing Olympic exhibition hall. Passive solar heating, water efficient fixtures, sustainable building materials and other green design features should be incorporated where possible.

It is estimated that households can reduce their water footprint by 60% just by adopting more conservative water usage. To further reduce your carbon footprint beyond what has already been suggested, try changing your driving habits; avoid excessive acceleration/deceleration, drive with your lights off if possible, turn off the air conditioner. And don't forget to take mass transit at every opportunity.

This article was originally published in EzineArticles with the title Carbon Footprint Versus Ecological Footprint.   Author Steve Auger.