Grist | Topics | 38 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 38
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
Tough but fair criticism BBC program on Kyoto offsets	Gar Lipow	06 Jun 2008	Gristmill
The idea behind offsets is that you pay someone else to reduce emissions on your behalf when they can make the reductions more cheaply than you can. The leading offset method use to fight climate chaos is the Clean Development Mechanism. This is an extremely controversial topic, with many (including me) contending it does not work. The BBC has an excellent radio broadcast covering both sides of the controversy. The broadcaster concludes that offsets don't make sense. But ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Oldies but goodies Offset criticisms have not stopped being true	Gar Lipow	22 May 2008	Gristmill
Patrick McCully has a great feature in The Guardian about some of the problems with offsets. (No single article can tackle all of them.) The points are pretty standard: At least two thirds of the offset are fraudulent. Fraudulent offsets used as permissions to burn coal and increase climate chaos. Throw in massive supporting evidence in an entertaining package. Ho freaking hum, right? Meanwhile, the world keeps burning. Every ton of offset-enabled coal power ma ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Tired Wired magazine bursts a blood vessel doing its contrarian thing	David Roberts	21 May 2008	Gristmill
To your right, you'll see the cover of this month's Wired magazine. The premise of the issue is that climate change is now the only eco-problem that matters, but to solve it, we'll have to slaughter the sacred cows of environmentalism. (2001 called. It wants its framing device back.) So what are these heresies that Wired's Strawman Enviro so clings to? The Tired: Yes, yes, nuclear power is the only way to stop climate change and enviros who don't embrace nukes ar ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, dumbassery, green living, magazines, nuclear power (all these topics)

Climos Def New company wants to seed ocean with iron to sequester carbon		05 Mar 2008	News
Posted at 12:24 PM on 05 Mar 2008 Weeks after ocean-seeding company Planktos bit the iron dust, a startup called Climos is plowing ahead with a similar business plan: seed the ocean with iron dust to stimulate the growth of CO2-gobbling plankton, then sell offsets for the sequestered carbon. Climos has announced $3.5 million in venture capital and is backed by reputable investors: Tesla Chair (née Pay-Pal cofounder) Elon Mu ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, geoengineering, news, oceans (all these topics)

Strike While the Iron Is ... Whoops, Too Late Plan to combat warming by seeding ocean with iron runs out of funds		14 Feb 2008	News
Posted at 3:26 PM on 14 Feb 2008 Planktos, the company that proposed fending off global warming by seeding the ocean with iron dust, has failed to get enough funding to go forward with planned tests. Under the Planktos business plan, iron fertilization would encourage phytoplankton blooms, which would suck up extra CO2, allowing the company to sell carbon offsets. But it was not to ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, geoengineering, news, oceans (all these topics)

House carbon offsets 'a waste of taxpayer money' Funds for offsets shouldn't reward past environmental behavior	Joseph Romm	29 Jan 2008	Gristmill
If you must buy carbon offsets, caveat emptor -- in particular, don't buy them from the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). That is the point of a terrific front-page article in the Washington Post: 'Value of U.S. House's Carbon Offsets Is Murky, Some Question Effectiveness of $89,000 Purchase to Balance Out Greenhouse Gas Emissions.' Yes, it is nice to be quoted above the fold in any major newspaper -- the quote in the headline is from me -- but the reason I think the ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

The so-so Voluntary Carbon Standard New standard for carbon offsets is unimpressive	Joseph Romm	21 Nov 2007	Gristmill
As E&E News (subs. req'd)reports today: An industry group released standards yesterday for carbon dioxide offsets in the hopes of attracting existing and still-forming emission-trading markets. The Voluntary Carbon Standards (VCS) are aimed at evaluating clean-energy projects in developing countries that are used to offset industrialized nations' emissions of greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. You can read all a ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

U.S. Mayors Climate Conference: Gore II Gore: carbon credits and offsets a good thing if used responsibly	David Roberts	02 Nov 2007	Gristmill
Joy Miller of Hallandale Beach asked Gore about carbon credits and offsets -- "buying our way out of the problem." You won't be surprised to hear that Gore's answer was wonky and careful and came in parts. He said credits are a 'good thing' if the standards and information are in place to validate their quality. "The economy can be an ally," and we know cap-and-trade systems work. However, if used irresponsibly, as a substitute for direct re ...
Topics: Al Gore, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Directed Buy On carbon offsets	Umbra Fisk	15 Oct 2007	Ask Umbra
Dear Umbra, I've been reading the whole back-and-forth about carbon offsets, and it seems strange to me that most (all?) of the ones I've seen fund projects that, while worthwhile, may or may not result in the promised emissions reduction. It seems that a simple way around this problem would be to buy actual emissions permits from an established carbon market like Europe. Are there any companies or organizations that would allow me to do t ...
Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Update on PG&E's ClimateSmart Offset Program On how electric utilities should become carbon neutral	Joseph Romm	07 Sep 2007	Gristmill
Since my first post dissing PG&E's offset program, I've had phone calls with PG&E, NRDC, members of PG&E's ClimateSmart External Advisory Group, plus a call with a forestry expert who consults with those who oversee the van Eck forest, which is featured on the 'Our Projects' page of the ClimateSmart website. I have four basic conclusions: I still think, in general, the vast majority of electric utilities should not be in the business of sellin ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Offsets never, ever resemble indulgences: Part II On the problem of carbon-offset projects in developing countries	Gar Lipow	04 Sep 2007	Gristmill
[editor's note, by David Roberts] Important update to this post here. It turns out that Climate Care, a major indulgence offset provider, is paying farmers in India to pump water with treadles rather than diesel pumps in order to offset plane flights. I would hope that supporters of offsets would be as quick as opponents to see what is wrong with this. In case someone is reading this before their morning coffee, I will simply point out that it is one thing for rich ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Coal is not the enemy of mankind when properly offset Because voluntary offsets are never, ever like indulgences	Gar Lipow	02 Sep 2007	Gristmill
In a prime example of how voluntary offsets fail to resemble indulgences: As someone who once sunk a shrimp boat as an act of civil disobedience, Diane Wilson was disappointed when two big environmental groups opted for a less-than risky alternative to blocking a new coal-burning power plant that's poised to blaze in her community of Calhoun County, Texas. If she had the time and resources, Wilson, a fourth generation fisherman and leader of the lonely environmental ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

Indulgences redux Offset customers don't buy offsets to justify their other behavior	David Roberts	29 Aug 2007	Gristmill
So, TerraPass just got done with a customer survey, with several thousand responses. Uncovered was the shocking news that people are not, in fact, using offsets as an excuse to indulge in other bad behaviors. (Here's a one-page PDF summarizing results.) In fact, just as you'd expect, people who care enough to pay for offsets also care enough to reduce their emissions in other ways. As Adam says, this counts as pretty good evidence against the "indulgences" ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

Rule four of offsets: No enhanced oil recovery Injecting CO2 into oil wells is not real carbon sequestration	Joseph Romm	24 Aug 2007	Gristmill
Capturing CO2 and injecting it into a well to squeeze more oil out of the ground is not real carbon sequestration. Why? When the recovered oil is burned, it releases at least as much CO2 as was stored (and possibly much more). Therefore, CO2 used for such enhanced oil recovery (EOR) does not reduce net carbon emissions and should not be sold to the public as a carbon offset. Yet a company, Blue Source, LLC, proposes to do just that: to capture the CO2 from a f ...
Topics: carbon offsets, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, oil (all these topics)

Their Bark Is Worse For Our Blight Decade-long study says trees may not be good at offsetting carbon		10 Aug 2007	Daily Grist
Their Bark Is Worse For Our Blight Decade-long study says trees may not be good at offsetting carbon Step away from the vegetation, treehuggers, and find something else to embrace. New research finds that when it comes to offsetting greenhouse gases, trees may not be up to the challenge. For 10 years, Duke University researchers plied a stand of North Carolina loblolly pines with ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, climate science, news (all these topics)

Trees They're not going to save us	David Roberts	10 Aug 2007	Gristmill
Oh well, it was a nice thought: A decade-long experiment led by Duke University scientists indicates that trees provide little help in offsetting increased levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Note to the hordes of indignant commenters lunging for the CAPS LOCK key: this does not mean trees are worthless. Trees do many wonderful things. They're like ponies and ice cream, only awesomer. I'm going to go hug one as soon as I'm done with this post. Yay for tree ...
Topics: carbon offsets, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Desert Flowers Legendary Burning Man festival gets an eco-conscience	Judith Lewis	03 Aug 2007	Main Dish
Armen Zeitounian leads the way up the staircase of the house he's living in, a two-story colonial nestled in the smoggy hills north of Los Angeles, complete with a view and a pool and a black Ford Explorer in the driveway. In a room on the top floor, a two-by-six-inch plank, painted white, protrudes about five feet through a hole halfway up the wall; in the next room, the other half of the plank emer ...
Topics: art, carbon offsets, climate, climate change impacts, climate change mitigation, green living, Nevada, recycling (all these topics)

Rule three of offsets: No geo-engineering Smacking down a bad idea	Joseph Romm	27 Jul 2007	Gristmill
I know you've all been eagerly waiting for this (don't worry, I don't have many more rules). I got sidetracked by last week's offset hearing. Offset projects should deliver climate benefits with high confidence -- that's a key reason trees make lousy offsets, especially non-urban, non-tropical trees. An even more dubious source of offsets is geo-engineering, which is 'the intentional large scale manipulation of the global environment' (PDF) to counter ...
Topics: carbon offsets, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, geoengineering, oceans (all these topics)

Same carbon credits sold twice (as CDM and on voluntary market) Double counting does not legally qualify as fraud	Gar Lipow	27 Jul 2007	Gristmill
The ENDS Report -- July 2007, issue 390 ($ub. rqd): ENDS has learned that chemical corporation Rhodia is using carbon credits from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to meet voluntary corporate targets -- only to sell them at a profit to be counted again elsewhere. Cement company Lafarge has not ruled out the same practice. Companies like Rhodia can use CDM credits to comply with mandatory targets under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. But they can also use t ...
Topics: business, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation (all these topics)

Jack Bauer is going to stop global warming The TV show 24 will reduce its carbon footprint	Chris Schults	27 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Fans of 24 know that if there's one person that can stop climate change, it ain't Al Gore. It's Jack Bauer. If you are not familiar with Jack, here are some of his qualifications from the site Random Jack Bauer Facts: There are two hands that can beat a royal flush. Jack Bauer's right hand and Jack Bauer's left hand. Most people would need months to recover from 20 months of Chinese interrogation. Jack Bauer needs a shower, a shave and a change of clothes. ...
Topics: biofuels, carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, ecological footprint, energy, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, renewable energy, TV (all these topics)

GE's climate credit card Mock, yes, but then take a closer look	David Roberts	26 Jul 2007	Gristmill
How about that GE Money Earth Rewards Platinum MasterCard? Hard not to make fun of it, right? So hard, in fact, that Daily Grist failed. To not make fun of it. That is to say, they made fun of it. And by "they" I mean "we." Moving on. Beyond the mockery, there's actually a reasonably interesting story here, and less of a Paradigmatic Example of Our Greedy, Rotten Culture than you might think. Joel Makower, as usual, has the goods. This is parti ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, green living, shopping (all these topics)

Offset mania Can't we offset something other than carbon?	David Roberts	25 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Lordy, this is getting out of hand: Under the agreement announced Wednesday, the Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation will allow individuals or groups to make charitable contributions that will be used to plant trees and do other work to improve national forests. ... Under the new program, known as the Carbon Capital Fund, consumers can 'offset' their carbon emissions by investing in projects on national forests to plant trees and improve water qu ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy, national forests (all these topics)

Timber industry rent seeking Making things out of wood sequesters carbon, turns out	David Roberts	25 Jul 2007	Gristmill
One telling point that carbon tax advocates make against cap-and-trade systems is that they create an enormous incentive for rent-seeking. Now it seems the timber industry is getting in on the game. Via Greenwire (sub rqd), this has my BS alarm all a-ringin': [Timber] Industry groups are lobbying Congress and making a public relations push to promote privately managed forests as carbon sinks -- a bid for a place in potential cap-and-trade schemes for greenhouse gas e ...
Topics: carbon offsets, carbon sequestration, climate, climate change mitigation, logging (all these topics)

Oh, jeez, not another carbon offset post ... Just when you thought it was over	biodiversivist	19 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Spreadsheets are wonderful things. Rhett Butler has put together a really nice cost analysis comparing the value of tropical peat bogs to palm oil. In a nutshell, this chart shows how much money the owners of these peat bogs could make in the next thirty years, depending of course on the future prices of palm oil and carbon offset credits: Take a look at the lower left-hand corner. Note that carbon credits put money in the landowners' hands from day one, while a new ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

More fresh, hot data nuggets on carbon offsets Highlights from a report on the state of the U.S. carbon market	Adam Stein	19 Jul 2007	Gristmill
Yesterday morning I attended a "special presentation" of the carbon market survey David summarized earlier. The panel discussion was a chance for the report's authors to present the findings to industry participants. A couple of further comments, for those interested in this topic: The market is probably bigger than reported. Due to difficulties gathering data on this young and highly fragmented industry, the authors feel the market size estimate is con ...
Topics: carbon offsets, climate, climate change mitigation, energy (all these topics)

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