Global...something
Who knew that saving the world could be a stocking stuffer? I strongly urge anyone with even a slight interest in environmental causes to visit The Conservation Fund's website. Along with a number of interesting articles on current issues in land and water conservation, they have a new donation program called Go Zero. In short, this program gives you the opportunity to quickly and easily offset your total carbon dioxide emissions for this year. First you can calculate a rough estimate of your CO2 emissions as an individual or for your home or office. Then, based on this data, you are told how many adult trees it will take to absorb and sequester your CO2 emission. The final step in the process is to buy this requisite number of trees and pay the purchase and administrative price to The Conservation Fund as a donation. They will plant them and care for them on a part of the 5 million acres of land that they have been able to protect.
CO2 is the number one way that man has contributed to global climate change. The only practical and effective way to take harmful CO2 out of our atmosphere is through the carbon sequestration properties of trees. Forests act as a carbon sink where they absorb and trap the CO2 that we have carelessly pumped into our air through years of driving, flying, logging, heating/cooling our homes, or anything else that has come from the burning of fossil fuels. The Conservation Fund provides a great way to offset some of the damage that we've all done. Everybody on my holiday shopping list is getting bailed out of their CO2 bills this year. It sure beats another Swiss Army knife.
The only problem with carbon sequestration is that there aren't enough trees on earth to keep pace with the rate that we continue to release CO2. Donating to the Go Zero plan might help your conscience and your family's impact, but there are hundreds of SUV drivers getting electricity from your local coal-burning power plant that aren't participating. The long-term solution is to continue to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and seek alternative energy sources. We as individuals can continue to make a difference through programs and organizations like those above, but another goal should be to end the eco-apathy of our politicians. Any gains made by environmental lobbyists and activist groups can be undercut and made irrelevant with the stroke of W's pen. I'm not placing the blame solely on W or the Republicans. The only time the Senate voted on the Kyoto Accord to limit greenhouse gases, the Accord was defeated 95-0. I know that there were fewer than 95 Republicans on the Senate at the time so both parties are culpable.
Unless the Green Party is able to make significant gains in the American political landscape, the outlook may be bleak. Why the overall health of the planet has not yet become a major political issue and a priority agenda item for this (and every) administration is exasperating to me. I'll take a breather and work on that next time.
Teaser:
The reasons behind it are partially explained by the ability of our government to turn a blind eye to overwhelming scientific data that proves we are destroying our planet. Another reason is the larger anti-intellectual, anti-scientific, and isolationist movement in our country.
Who knew that saving the world could be a stocking stuffer? I strongly urge anyone with even a slight interest in environmental causes to visit The Conservation Fund's website. Along with a number of interesting articles on current issues in land and water conservation, they have a new donation program called Go Zero. In short, this program gives you the opportunity to quickly and easily offset your total carbon dioxide emissions for this year. First you can calculate a rough estimate of your CO2 emissions as an individual or for your home or office. Then, based on this data, you are told how many adult trees it will take to absorb and sequester your CO2 emission. The final step in the process is to buy this requisite number of trees and pay the purchase and administrative price to The Conservation Fund as a donation. They will plant them and care for them on a part of the 5 million acres of land that they have been able to protect.
CO2 is the number one way that man has contributed to global climate change. The only practical and effective way to take harmful CO2 out of our atmosphere is through the carbon sequestration properties of trees. Forests act as a carbon sink where they absorb and trap the CO2 that we have carelessly pumped into our air through years of driving, flying, logging, heating/cooling our homes, or anything else that has come from the burning of fossil fuels. The Conservation Fund provides a great way to offset some of the damage that we've all done. Everybody on my holiday shopping list is getting bailed out of their CO2 bills this year. It sure beats another Swiss Army knife.
The only problem with carbon sequestration is that there aren't enough trees on earth to keep pace with the rate that we continue to release CO2. Donating to the Go Zero plan might help your conscience and your family's impact, but there are hundreds of SUV drivers getting electricity from your local coal-burning power plant that aren't participating. The long-term solution is to continue to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and seek alternative energy sources. We as individuals can continue to make a difference through programs and organizations like those above, but another goal should be to end the eco-apathy of our politicians. Any gains made by environmental lobbyists and activist groups can be undercut and made irrelevant with the stroke of W's pen. I'm not placing the blame solely on W or the Republicans. The only time the Senate voted on the Kyoto Accord to limit greenhouse gases, the Accord was defeated 95-0. I know that there were fewer than 95 Republicans on the Senate at the time so both parties are culpable.
Unless the Green Party is able to make significant gains in the American political landscape, the outlook may be bleak. Why the overall health of the planet has not yet become a major political issue and a priority agenda item for this (and every) administration is exasperating to me. I'll take a breather and work on that next time.
Teaser:
The reasons behind it are partially explained by the ability of our government to turn a blind eye to overwhelming scientific data that proves we are destroying our planet. Another reason is the larger anti-intellectual, anti-scientific, and isolationist movement in our country.
posted by adelino @ 1:30 PM
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