Can someone please ......

[Just Me 2]

explain in plain English what buying carbon offsets is? I have looked it up but it really makes no sense. If I am reading it correct I can buy solar panels for my neighbors house and that makes up for what I use. Is this right?

 

[Kandahar]

explain in plain English what buying carbon offsets is? I have looked it up but it really makes no sense. If I am reading it correct I can buy solar panels for my neighbors house and that makes up for what I use. Is this right?

Something like that.

Basically, the idea is that you feed all of the relevant information about your lifestyle into a carbon offset organization's website, and it will tell you how much carbon you emit annually.

Then you can pay them to do things that will offset your carbon emissions. For example, if planting a tree offsets X tons of carbon per year, and you emit Y tons of carbon per year, you would need to plant Y/X trees per year to live a carbon-neutral life. Since most people don't want to plant trees, these carbon offset organizations will do it for you.

 

[Just Me 2]

Something like that.

Basically, the idea is that you feed all of the relevant information about your lifestyle into a carbon offset organization's website, and it will tell you how much carbon you emit annually.

Then you can pay them to do things that will offset your carbon emissions. For example, if planting a tree offsets X tons of carbon per year, and you emit Y tons of carbon per year, you would need to plant Y/X trees per year to live a carbon-neutral life. Since most people don't want to plant trees, these carbon offset organizations will do it for you.

Hmmmm ok well I guess it makes sense but why would you not just cut back on your carbon? I mean it seems silly to pay someone to take on your responsibility. It seems like a cop out to me I mean if you care enough to find out how much carbon you are emitting you should take the responsibility to correct the issues in your own life. Seem like the "easy" way out.

Thank you for the explanation though.

 

[Lightdemon]

Seem like the "easy" way out.

Thank you for the explanation though.

American culture, nuff said. :rofl

 

[Just Me 2]

American culture, nuff said. :rofl

Yup, buy your way out of responsibility. :doh

 

[Kandahar]

Hmmmm ok well I guess it makes sense but why would you not just cut back on your carbon? I mean it seems silly to pay someone to take on your responsibility. It seems like a cop out to me I mean if you care enough to find out how much carbon you are emitting you should take the responsibility to correct the issues in your own life. Seem like the "easy" way out.

Thank you for the explanation though.

Obviously cutting back on carbon use would be a good thing to do as well. However, we can't completely eliminate our carbon footprint unless we completely abandon our modern lifestyles...and even then, we probably wouldn't. So once you've reduced your emissions as much as you can or as much as you're willing to, then you can buy offsets for the remaining amount. Obviously the amount would vary from one person to another.

 

[Just Me 2]

Obviously cutting back on carbon use would be a good thing to do as well. However, we can't completely eliminate our carbon footprint unless we completely abandon our modern lifestyles...and even then, we probably wouldn't. So once you've reduced your emissions as much as you can or as much as you're willing to, then you can buy offsets for the remaining amount. Obviously the amount would vary from one person to another.

If a person really cares they would do whatever it took not just buy their way out of it. This is just another way for people to push their personal responsibly off on someone else.

 

[Kandahar]

If a person really cares they would do whatever it took not just buy their way out of it.

Most of the people who spend their money on this kind of thing probably DO try to curtail their own carbon emissions as much as possible. But it's not feasible to expect people to abandon ALL their carbon use. Carbon use is essential to maintain our standard of living.

This is just another way for people to push their personal responsibly off on someone else.

As long as the end result is that carbon emissions are reduced, that doesn't really matter.

 

[Just Me 2]

Most of the people who spend their money on this kind of thing probably DO try to curtail their own carbon emissions as much as possible. But it's not feasible to expect people to abandon ALL their carbon use. Carbon use is essential to maintain our standard of living.

Agreed but whatever you are buying you should be able to do yourself.

s long as the end result is that carbon emissions are reduced, that doesn't really matter.

That is like saying if I steal from my boss but pay it back before he finds out I didn't do anything wrong. The end result is the same the money is there be damned with the fact that I stole it.

Sorry but this I have a HUGE problem with that. It is just another way for people to not take personal responsibility. We blame everyone else for the things we do, we buy our way out of things and we expect others to pick up the slack.

 

[Kandahar]

Agreed but whatever you are buying you should be able to do yourself.



That is like saying if I steal from my boss but pay it back before he finds out I didn't do anything wrong. The end result is the same the money is there be damned with the fact that I stole it.

Sorry but this I have a HUGE problem with that. It is just another way for people to not take personal responsibility. We blame everyone else for the things we do, we buy our way out of things and we expect others to pick up the slack.

How would you suggest that people eliminate 100% of their carbon emissions? Live in a mud hut with no electricity or running water? I bet that even then, you'd use some carbon.

It's simply not feasible to eliminate all of our carbon use. But it IS feasible to eliminate some of it, and offset the rest of it.

 

[Just Me 2]

How would you suggest that people eliminate 100% of their carbon emissions? Live in a mud hut with no electricity or running water? I bet that even then, you'd use some carbon.

It's simply not feasible to eliminate all of our carbon use. But it IS feasible to eliminate some of it, and offset the rest of it.

I understand that we can not eliminate all CO2 but I don't think any scientist is asking us to do that but why can we not all get to a level that is acceptable.

 

[Kandahar]

I understand that we can not eliminate all CO2 but I don't think any scientist is asking us to do that but why can we not all get to a level that is acceptable.

We haven't really been emitting it at an acceptable/stable level since before the Industrial Revolution (if at all since the beginning of human civilization), and I don't think many people would want to go back to the living conditions of the 1700s. Hopefully, by pushing FORWARD with technology, we'll be able to reduce our CO2 emissions. But in the mean time, I don't see anything wrong with conserving carbon where we can and offsetting it where we can't.

Personally I think there are much better ways to improve the world than buying carbon offsets (HIV/AIDS charities and feeding the hungry come to mind), but if this is what someone wants to spend their money on, it can't hurt.