Biz Talk: Meandering Through Carbon Offset Fantasies

Dunnster just wrote today (on our day off - first day of spring officially, Happy Shumbun no Hi!) a very good blog about the recent Prius Bashing that seems to constantly go around. Apparently (I didn't know this, but that's not surprising since he seems to know billions and billions of bits of information more than I do) there is a "Dust to Dust" report that compares the "total running costs" to the environment of a Toyota Prius to a Hummer and concludes that the Hummer is more efficient and better on the environment.

You can read the entire blog, entitled Cars here, and I recommend it. It's interesting, to say the least, especially because Dunnster always finds the most interesting controversies to share with us and he never ceases to amaze me.

As often happens to me when I have a bit of time to ponder, I started writing a comment. And then I edited it, and wrote some more, and some more and the next thing I knew it was a blog-in-a-blog. So, I extracted it from there, and decided to write it here instead so as not to take up too much space on his site. I'll go back and link this blog to my comment so those reading his excellent blog can pop over here if they wish to see my thoughts.

I know there are pros and cons to the system of businesses, industries, countries buying "carbon offset coupons", but if that money collected is actually USED for the improvement of CO2 reduction in some way, and not just considered a profit that goes back into the pockets of the investors, I think it could work.

If such were the case then it would be interesting I think, if individuals could do their part by purchasing environmentally-friendlier vehicles and at the same time a portion of their purchase price would be allotted to their receipt of carbon-offset coupons. This doesn't necessarily mean that the profits of the company have to decrease. If we were conscientious buyers, and wanted to buy into this system (after understanding it), then adding to the sticker price the option of purchasing carbon offset coupons when buying the vehicle would be a nice extra option, I feel.

The company could issue specific coupons in paper form, just as if we bought securities, that could be saved, traded, bought or sold openly on the market at market values, and it could become a new commodity that would be born every time we decided to invest in the improvement of the environment. Why not? If countries can print money and make it appear out of thin air, why not print "enviros" that can be used with other businesses as "points" for reducing future prices of other environmentally-friendly purchases? I like the concept. I'd buy into it.

It's just like when you purchase books from Amazon you get points that you can use to reduce your costs for future purchases. Why not be able to purchase carbon-offset enviros that would act in the same function and could be redeemed for discounts when purchasing certain products or services that were recognized to be produced by organizations who were doing their part in developing more environmentally-friendly goods?

Yes, we can change our light bulbs, drive less, turn off the lights, use less bottled water, turn our dishwater temperature down, stop using weed killer, reduce our plastic consumption, buy recycled tires, and more. No doubt there is a huge amount we as individuals can already do (and should be). I was shocked when I visited Bob in Asheville (where everyone buys "organic") to find out that ALL of their trash (glass, bottles, plastic, food, paper, everything) all goes out in one bag to the dump - shocked I tell you!

As I learned when my former company was applying for ISO14001 and we were studying about it, there is only so much reduction you can do before you can't do any more. It doesn't make sense to "suffer" to save the world, because that is not our lot in life. We should be able to prosper while working to improve the environment, and profit from it at the same time.

To actually be able to purchase more carbon offset (on a voluntary basis), would be an excellent way for those really interested in serving the environment further, those who have done all they can to reduce but still want to do more and not suffer from it (i.e. never use electricity), to do so.

How about this radical idea: Instead of paying a tithe to the church, don't you think "God" might prefer to see us keep our globe operating at a healthier level by buying carbon offset coupons? I'd like to think so.

When I was in Asheville, NC, I was looking into renting a car. One company (Alamo, I think) allowed us to choose a "carbon offset plan" which billed an extra $1.25/day for carbon offset. On the surface it looked like a good idea, but there was nowhere I could find in the site that told me where that extra money was going. Did Alamo plan to make us feel good by letting us "buy carbon offset", and in reality it was just going to go into their coffers? Or did they have a plan where they were using it to purchase offset coupons as a means to decrease their exhaust output on a "carbon-based basis"? I couldn't find so I didn't purchase. But I seriously considered choosing that over the other vehicles, even if it meant paying a little more per day. IF that money was going to true carbon offset in some way, and had it been explained, I would have paid extra to do my part on that scale.

So I think there is potential here for such a system for the individuals, and I hope that it eventually gets implemented in creative ways (not "creative accounting ways") that we, the boys and girls in the street can do just a little bit more to do our part. It's time to stop complaining about the destruction of our planet and start acting. All complaining does is bring back more destruction upon us; it serves no positive constructive purpose. If you believe that the energy you transmit out to the Universe comes back multiplied, what is the use of sending out negative energy? We need to act, to show our positive intent in order for that positive ripple to turn into a tsunami of change, rather than a tsunami of destructive force.

I think that the automakers could really lobby for a movement in this direction if they aren't already doing so and it would, in turn, be a good marketing tool for the environmentally conscious, as well as assist them to design and develop more models that have the energy-saving, or energy-replenishing concepts. After all, the faster they can get these new tech vehicles down in price to the mass-market price point, the faster we will all be able to switch over and make petroleum a "resource of the passed".

Couldn't Amazon.world find some creative way to introduce this into their point system? They have a monstrously successful business model with phenomenal logistics. I think that they probably could. Then for those of us who want to buy books online, Amazon.world could be our environmentally friendly choice which might give them a competitive advantage over other online bookstores (not for long, of course). I think they could do it, if they sat down with creative minds and worked it out. I would most definitely buy into that since I like this company already! (two books just arrived today, Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" and a Japanese novel for Mayu.)

But having said so, I don't think it would be good to be passed as a "carbon offset tax" where everyone was forced to do their part. Sure, it would force people to change their habits (one of the outcomes on economics as we know is to change habits by levying taxes and tolls, not just to make more money), having it as OPTIONAL would allow those who can to do so with a conscious mind, and those who were not at a point in their lives to do so, would not need to feel angry that their "hard-earned dollar" was being taxed even further for something they may not believe in. And it wouldn't be forcing people to do something they weren't ready for, so they would not need to feel resentment toward it.

Not everyone would go for this, and that's fine. Those that want to, should be able to do so, and those that don't, really shouldn't be forced. Not yet anyway. Maybe in the future when it needs to be forced if we are at such a point of global environmental crisis, but I would prefer to think that as people become more aware, they realize the merits of this system and come on board on their own accord, and with their own understanding and desire to do so. So much more can be accomplished when you WANT to do it, rather than when you are FORCED to do it against your will. "How much can I give for a dollar" as opposed to "How much can I take for a dollar", is a similar analogy.

This is just a thought that started rumbling through my mind as I read Dunnster's blog today. And I would like to thank him for helping my mind get going on a new, and to me interesting, thought.

I love you, Rob!

Cam

P.S. Robin, would you design an "enviro" for me so that I can put it at the top of this blog as my picture? I would love for you to design a truly "global currency" that everyone around the world would benefit from in a collective way, whenever it exchanged hands in transactions!