Carbon Offsets
The guilt reducers that find green projects worlwide-are the cause du jour. But buying one doesn’t mean it’s okay to ditch everday eco-frienly habits. what offsets actually do:
• Energy-efficiency efforts: Environmental groups install fluorescent lightbulbs, stoves and other energy-saving products in developing countries and low income U.S. neighborhoods. Best type of offset-the needy recieve basic mecessities while carbon emissions are limited.
• Renewable energy credits (RECs): Funs cleaner and cheaper energy sources, like winf power, and farms that convert methane from manure to electricity. They are a good offset, but don’t be scammed:
1. Make sure the project has a Gold Standard rating or is Green-e certifiec.
2. Only buy into projects labeled “additonal”, or you might be paying for efforts that will happen anyway. Offsets less than $5 per ton are probably not additional.
3. Another option: Buy through your utility company.
4. Offsets you can trust: These get a stamp of approval from top enviro-watchers:
• My-Climate
• Native Energy
• Climate Care
• Atmosfair
• Climate Friendly
• Tree-planting, reforestation: These replace red oaks in Arkansas’s Ozark National Forest, where insects have ravaged trees, and mangrove forests in India that were flattened by the tsuanmi. Though trees hold carbon only temporarily, they also help the earth by reducing erosion and runoff. (Source: Reader’s Digest 2007)
*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Dress sustainably (try designers like Linda Loudermilk, Stewart+Brown, Edun.)
Super Bowl FYI: At least 90 million toilets will be flushed during the Super Bowl. That’s enough water to flow over Niagrar Falls for 3 minutes. Limit your flushing by doing the following. If it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down. It may sound gross to leave urine setting in the toilet, but it’s a lot better for the environment and your pocket book during the Super Bowl fun.
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