Help me understand
 

what "Carbon Offsets" and "Carbon Credits" are. What is the purpose of these "items"? How does this concept help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

I haven't listened much to the pundits when they discuss this. Now, I kinda wish I had. Anybody know??

Re: Help me understand
 

It is my understanding...

- If You Built a Ford F350 with a Big Block, it will get about 8 MPG and thus creates Massive Carbon output.

So, you build a 1/2 Electric 1/2 Gas car that gets 60+ MPG, and you have a tiny amount of Carbon output. When you get a vehicle that is above a certain percent, you get credits to cover you for the Big Negatives.

A way for Congress to make it look like they are pressuring the Manufacturers.

Re: Help me understand
 

And of course in the end, it all amounts to nothing substantive.

Mere lip service to addressing the issue. Of course it's not us doing the real polluting these days, but you'd never know that from listening to the media.

Re: Help me understand
 

It's basically a massive shell game. When you buy someone's carbon credits you are basically paying them not to pollute so you yourself can pollute. Or that's the theory. In reality there is little way to judge whether it's working and the government's and induhviduals*cough*Al Gore*cough involved can pretty much opt out at any time.

Re: Help me understand
 

I was thinking this could be a shell game. If so, someone has to be making some serious, FMB cash dollars out of it. So... I can make pollution as long as I do something to minimize pollution somewhere else. Or, I can buy some carbon credits (where does the money go?) and continue my polluting ways.

Am I the only one that thinks this doesn't make sense?

Re: Help me understand
 

Hey, Congressional Members are making money, so it makes PERFECT Sense!

Re: Help me understand
 

No, it doesn't make a lot of sense does it?

But until all countries are required to reduce their emissions it won't be more than lip service to the problem, assuming you believe that our emissions are the real cause of the problem that is.

Re: Help me understand
 

I was wanting to make sure I didn't miss something. I've noticed the Dems and Repubs have bragged about purchasing these credits to balance out the impact of the conventions in the cities hosting them.

Why not just call a spade a spade? Politics is such bullshit.

Re: Help me understand
 

There is a target of total emissions.....

Countries with jungle or dense forests would be given money not to cut down their trees to absorb co2 released else where...

One country can invest in greener economies and collect proceeds by selling their unused carbon credits to us or china.....

Not as much a shell game as you may think..........



You confuse me.... How would all countries have to reduce co2 emissions to have an effect, that is Bush logic....

If one country reduces co2, it is not going to mean that another uses more for any reason............ The US is responsible for nearly 1/3 of carbon emissions, with in its borders... AND drives other economies to contribute when we want to buy their shit..........

Re: Help me understand
 

While you have a point to some extent, while many countries have no limitations on their emissions and can spew co2 to their heart's content, and many others are buying credits from less-producing countries so that they can emit more and still be under the "rules", then the whole thing ends up as lip service.

It's like a law, which has to be binding on everyone else it loses its validity.

The US MAY create 1/3 the emissions, and I'd doubt the veracity of that number (just how would someone prove that anyway), but all that means is that 2/3rds are somebody else's fault. And as long as they're not accountable for their emissions we're not going to make real progress at reducing emissions, whether it's truly the necessity it's claimed to be or not.

Re: Help me understand
 

What happened to leading by example? This bullshit with everyone saying, "whe arent going to do it if everyone else does" is grade school Bullshit.

I do agree that this Carbon Credit thing is bullshit though, as all it does is make the burning of fossil fuels a little more acceptable. I know money is the driving factor in everything, but the views of some of our leaders are so fucked, I dont see them doing much for anyone.

I live my life with the principal that we did not inherit the earth from our fathers, but we are borrowing it from our children.
The faster we move away from oil and coal, the better life will get for everyone. There are Millions of jobs and billions, if not trillions of dollars to be made in renewable resources, wtf are we waiting for?

I get tired of hearing the political Mubo Jumbo that says "its going to take a long time to end our dependancy". You know what, if you tell a lion its a dog long enough, its going to think its a dog eventually. We throw billions at the oil tycoons every year, for what, to keep them happy? Fuck them, they had their chance and look what has happened, war, poverty, fucked up economy.....ect. Lets take that money and directly invest it into renewables. Everyone knows that oil is finite, so again I ask, wtf are we waiting for?

Re: Help me understand
 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with leading by example.

At the same time, unless everyone starts FOLLOWING that example, your effort is symbolic at best.

It's like talking about road safety. Sure you can follow all the rules and drive carefully, but if everyone else is weaving in and out of traffic, doing 30 mph over the limit. would you even begin to say the roads are materially any safer?

As long as some of the biggest producers are exempt from quotas for co2 emissions, and the others can buy extra credit from other countries, the whole thing is a symbolic gesture with no real impact. All sizzle and no steak.