Comments gelobter has made

  • Tax Rebate?

    First of all, no circular firing squads please...let's remember that there is an enemy and it isn't likely anyone posting to this page.  Cap-and-dividend is in the top tier of ideas to fix climate change.

    But Jim's point is important and the prior post misses it...If climate-protectors do not find a way to match climate-destroyers' political capital, we won't get reductions.  A yearly dividend is not unlike a "fiscal stimulus" or Bush's recent tax rebate.  Go spend it on something new but it won't help you cut your dependence on fossil fuels whose price should be rising rapidly. Nor will it keep a Senator who voted for charging polluters for carbon immune from outrage over more expensive fossil fuels.  

    Which message do you think wins?
    Senator: "I got you that check!" Citizen:"Funny, it was signed by President McCain."
    or
    Citizen: "Why did you vote to make it harder for me to fill my tank?"  Senator: "To get you that check!"

    Directly investing the proceeds from a permit system not only ensures a better and cheaper life for most Americans but it also builds  big political support from those who actually implement the new investment and infrastructure it generates. And, thanks to the miracle of bonds, it lets you massively front-load the benefits and fund them on future revenue.

    Cap-and-dividend was an important and elegant contribution for its time (10 years ago).  Like so many other innovations in climate, we must keep the best and move forward to the better faster than is the norm in politics and policy if we're to stop global warming.

    Michel Gelobter, CEO, Cooler www.climatecooler.com

    On Peter Barnes' carbon policy proposal would not spur the economic changes we need posted 1 year, 5 months ago 19 Responses

  • I signed that letter...

    Thanks to JMG and others for a discussion that cuts to the car crash (a.k.a. the point) on so many of the issues we tried to address in launching Cooler. Our vision is to connect every purchase to a solution for global warming, and the debate in this stream has been mostly about whether or not we aim to encourage more shopping. At the risk of being controversial, the answer is yes - more shopping through our site and less through other channels - because when you start your shopping at Cooler you eliminate the global warming impact of the goods and services you buy.

    Jones above said that if we calculated "the carbon footprint of every product listed. Now that would be paradigm-shifting." Well, we do calculate it for every purchase and then we offset that footprint with a basket of renewable energy and pollution prevention investments. Both the calculation and the offsets are vetted by a coalition of the world's best-known environmental groups.

    Enuf with the mechanics - here's the strategy: To make sure that, somewhere in consumer-land, there is a brand that signals real action on climate, and:

    • Communicates the global warming impact of consumer goods & services (40% of the average American's carbon footprint) with integrity,
    • Offsets the impacts of consumption with the highest quality investments in renewable, efficiency, and pollution prevention that really reduce emissions and make a difference in real people's lives, and
    • Drives the global warming impact of production down because the less they emit, the less retailers and manufacturers pay us for offsets and the more Cooler's members love them.

    In the coming years, we are all going to be inundated with global-warming marketing. Without Cooler, those claims could eventually become as meaningless as those made about the healthiness of various snacks. With Cooler, and ongoing collaboration with the environmental community, there's a beacon in the marketplace for quality and a platform for powerful consumer action.

    PS: there's a stealth strategy too...the guidelines for every offset dollar we collect are set by our environmental partners. If, with your help, we get to scale, that means tens of millions of intentional dollars into a carbon offset market desperately in need of a conscience.


    Michel Gelobter, President, Redefining Progress & CEO, Cooler

    On Apparently no one is immune to greenwashing posted 2 years, 3 months ago 32 Responses