carbon offsets

The Amazonians Speak Out

by Julie Walsh on December 5, 2008 · 1 comment

in Environment, Global Warming

I wrote recently of California’s declaration to allow tropical forestry carbon offsets so that California businesses wouldn’t have to actually reduce their emissions, but I suggested that guilt-laden Californians could be doing more harm than good. The countries where they will supposedly be investing in forests have proven records for corruption.

I now feel vindicated. Reuters Africa reports that yesterday at the EU climate talks:

Brazil ruled out on Thursday letting rich countries offset their greenhouse gas emissions by helping to save the Amazon rain forest, an idea under active discussion by the European Union.

Indigenous peoples attending United Nations-led climate talks in Poznan protested that they had no chance of seeing such carbon cash, and appealed instead for money first to root out corruption and cement their land rights…

Some indigenous peoples groups oppose a carbon market approach until their tenure rights are made secure, fearing the lure of billions of dollars may trigger a land grab instead.

I guess they don’t want Nature Conservancy et al buying up their lands and profitting the corrupt in their countries.

“All the sanctimony without all the effort”

by Ivan Osorio on October 6, 2008

in Culture, Environment, Global Warming, Sanctimony

Thus sums up Buck Strickland his love of carbon offsets in last night’s new episode of “King of the Hill.” Buck, owner of Strickland propane and Hank Hill’s employer, is expecting to get into hot water over illegal dumping, since, as one panicked staffer says, “People hate people who hate the environment.”

Hank calms Buck and his colleagues down, saying, “We just need to show people we don’t hate the environment.” Problem is, Hank means it — starting an office carpool, banning bottled water, and refusing to turn on the air conditioning. Buck, of course, doesn’t like this, and complains loudly. Hank tells Buck, regretfully, “You made a mistake and, well, fixing it is not gonna be fun.”

When Hank tells his neigbors about Buck’s displeasure, his neighbor Dale Gribble says, “Buck could always take the easy way out and just buy carbon offsets. They’re all the rage in Hollywood.” Hank asks Dale what those are. Dale responds, “They’re like a get-out-of-fail-free card for people concerned about the environment, but not concerned enough to actually do anything.”

It only gets better from there. The entire episode (“Earthy Girls are Easy”) is available onine here (with free player download).