Monday, September 10, 2007

carbon offsets... oh my!

i just offset the carbon dioxide emissions from our flights this afternoon with CarbonFund.org, a non-profit, independently certified firm (not as good as not flying at all - but at least it's something)... 49,772 miles of flights (24.19 tons of CO2) for $133.04.

I chose the offsets to be applied to Energy Efficiency projects, as that's the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to reduce CO2 emissions. This specific firm buys Carbon certificates from the Chicago Climate Exchange, and retires them. In part, this encourages businesses and industries to reduce their carbon emissions in the first place, as it drives up the price of carbon.

If you haven't already done so, go and buy a few compact florescent lightbulbs - one of the easiest ways to improve your energy efficiency - you can buy them everywhere now. They will save you money, and also help to reduce global warming. (plus they look cool). Use them on the light fixtures you have on most frequently (kitchen, living room) - so that they can make the most impact.

4 comments:

Les said...

Every light bulb but 3 in our house are energy saving florescent! We do what we can. It's something we all need to work on.

dad

Renewables Broker said...

Does anyone have an opinion on what www.CarbonCertificates.com might be worth? THANKS

Erika Leung said...

Hi Eric,

Good tip! Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) save more than 2/3rds of the energy of a regular incandescent, which can lead to at least $40 in savings from electricity bills!

I work for Carbonfund.org. First and foremost, we ask for our donors to "reduce what they can, and offset what the can't". Taking energy saving measures is one of the easiest ways to curb your carbon emissions, and save some money.

Please take a look at this portion of our site for more energy saving tips: http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/save_energy/. Also, if you have time, please pass by our blog: http://carbonfund.blogspot.com/.

Thanks!
Erika

Anonymous said...

I loooove the photographs and all the updates. it looks like you guys are having a very thorough experience. I apologize for not writing more, but do know how much I love you guys. And miss you too! I hope you have a good weekend. I will - I am enjoying a visit with Miche and baby Maia. YEAH!

Peace and love,
Mel