xcel
06-18-2006, 11:33 AM
TerraPass - Reduce what you can, offset what you can't. (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTUwMjAwJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==)
Alex Nussbaum - North Jersey - June 18. 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/TerraPass.jpg
Haworth's Leigh Merinoff has dialed down the thermostat, screwed in fluorescent bulbs and bought a hybrid car in her personal crusade against global warming.
Eventually, she hopes to convert her gas-electric hybrid to run solely on electricity, then erect a windmill in her back yard to provide the juice, 100 percent greenhouse-gas free.
In Clifton, Mirjam Lablans still drives a conventional gas-sipper, a 1999 Honda Civic. But she's tried to balance the scales by paying $40 to TerraPass, a California company that promises to offset her car's greenhouse emissions by giving the money to wind farms and other eco-friendly projects.
Frustrated by Washington's slow response to the issue, small but growing numbers of New Jerseyans are taking the global warming fight into their own hands. Some are going solar or planting trees. Others are giving to fledgling groups such as TerraPass or carbonfund.org, which allow consumers to calculate their "carbon footprint" - their personal contribution to climate change - and then donate money to efforts designed to reduce emissions.
The goal of the most dedicated is to live a "carbon neutral" life in which they completely eliminate or offset the greenhouse gases they're responsible for.
"You're stuck with this overwhelming problem that you can't do anything about," said Lablans, 27, an assistant producer for ABC television. "And this way you can do something, however small, to make a difference."
Scientists are virtually unanimous in agreeing that the globe is heating up, largely due to carbon dioxide released by burning coal, oil and gas. Other greenhouse gases, such as methane seeping out of landfills, also contribute.
The impact of that warming is still unclear. But some fear it could spawn stronger storms, longer droughts and disruptions in food production across the globe.
The United States, the world's leading greenhouse emitter, has refused to mandate reductions in greenhouse gases. The Bush administration says steep cuts could wreck the economy and instead has pushed for voluntary measures by industrial emitters.
To local greenhouse warriors, that's tantamount to fiddling while the climate burns. Nonetheless, they're adopting Bush's playbook, downsizing their own carbon footprint to inspire others.
They know their individual cuts won't make much of a dent. Merinoff estimates the solar panels she installed last year have allowed her to avoid about 14,000 pounds of carbon emissions. The U.S. total in 2004 was about 7.8 billion tons.
But the point is leadership and education. Lablans wants people to see the TerraPass decal on the windshield and ask, "What's that about?"
"This is absolutely a problem we are capable of reversing," she said. "We sort of live in this immediate present, and we don't think really about what's going to happen 20 years from now. And right now, this group of people inhabiting the earth could change it."
Tim McCarthy, a Wyckoff accountant, bought a TerraPass to negate the impact of his Honda CRV, a sport-utility vehicle. McCarthy said he tries to make "ecologically friendly" decisions, like using his home air conditioner sparingly. But the CRV offers one convenience most hybrids just can't, he said: enough room for his surfboard, bicycle and camping equipment.
The desire to make a difference - and perhaps, assuage some guilt - is driving the growth in carbon-offsetting operations that cater to consumers.
Carbonfund.org, a non-profit based in Maryland, has enrolled 4,000 people worldwide over the last year, said co-founder Eric Carlson.
Donors can give $27 to cover the yearly carbon output of the typical automobile. A $55 payment will also cover the average American's emissions for electricity and heating. There's a $99 Zero Carbon option that goes further, adding in the greenhouse emissions you're indirectly responsible for - for example, the gasoline burned to get the food you eat to the supermarket.
"Our mantra is reduce what you can, offset what you can't," Carlson said. "This is not about SUV guilt. This is, I think, about empowering people who live a busy life. You live the lifestyle most of us have and it's virtually impossible to get back to zero [emissions] on your own. This way you can."
Carbonfund allows donors to direct their money toward solar, wind and other renewable power projects or planting forests that absorb carbon. Donors can also purchase carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange, a voluntary network of U.S. companies seeking to reduce emissions. By buying and then retiring credits, the group lowers the amount of greenhouse gases companies can emit. Contributions are tax deductible.
TerraPass, meanwhile, was founded by a team of Wharton Business School students. They adopted a for-profit framework to better attract financing for carbon-reduction efforts, said Chief Environmental Officer Tom Arnold. Retail customers choose from four options, from $30 to $70 per year, depending on the age and fuel economy of their vehicle.
Arnold said 6,800 people have signed up, most of them this year. They've helped offset nearly 50,000 tons of carbon, he added.
TerraPass says it employs a third-party auditor to assure customers their dollars are actually going where they're promised. But with the industry so young, some still question whether the money given to these companies is being wisely spent. Would a logging company have replanted the forest anyway, without the assist from offsetters?
"The key question is, is a project truly additional?" said Mark Trexler, a Portland, Ore., consultant who helps companies design greenhouse-zapping plans. "Is it causing reductions that would not have otherwise occurred? Unless you're doing that, you're not really carbon neutral."
Trexler said carbon trading markets are working on standards that should make the process more transparent, but for now, he says, "It's very much a buyer-beware market."
For the United States to seriously tackle global warming, carbon emissions would have to be cut by 70 percent or more – which would require a fundamental reordering of the energy economy, Trexler said. Buying offsets is a worthy step, he argued, but consumers should see it as only part of the ultimate solution.
"I'd tell them to try to talk to their neighbors about climate change and to talk to their congressmen," he said. "All of this other stuff is great but without the public policy changes, we're really not going to get there."
Alex Nussbaum - North Jersey - June 18. 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/TerraPass.jpg
Haworth's Leigh Merinoff has dialed down the thermostat, screwed in fluorescent bulbs and bought a hybrid car in her personal crusade against global warming.
Eventually, she hopes to convert her gas-electric hybrid to run solely on electricity, then erect a windmill in her back yard to provide the juice, 100 percent greenhouse-gas free.
In Clifton, Mirjam Lablans still drives a conventional gas-sipper, a 1999 Honda Civic. But she's tried to balance the scales by paying $40 to TerraPass, a California company that promises to offset her car's greenhouse emissions by giving the money to wind farms and other eco-friendly projects.
Frustrated by Washington's slow response to the issue, small but growing numbers of New Jerseyans are taking the global warming fight into their own hands. Some are going solar or planting trees. Others are giving to fledgling groups such as TerraPass or carbonfund.org, which allow consumers to calculate their "carbon footprint" - their personal contribution to climate change - and then donate money to efforts designed to reduce emissions.
The goal of the most dedicated is to live a "carbon neutral" life in which they completely eliminate or offset the greenhouse gases they're responsible for.
"You're stuck with this overwhelming problem that you can't do anything about," said Lablans, 27, an assistant producer for ABC television. "And this way you can do something, however small, to make a difference."
Scientists are virtually unanimous in agreeing that the globe is heating up, largely due to carbon dioxide released by burning coal, oil and gas. Other greenhouse gases, such as methane seeping out of landfills, also contribute.
The impact of that warming is still unclear. But some fear it could spawn stronger storms, longer droughts and disruptions in food production across the globe.
The United States, the world's leading greenhouse emitter, has refused to mandate reductions in greenhouse gases. The Bush administration says steep cuts could wreck the economy and instead has pushed for voluntary measures by industrial emitters.
To local greenhouse warriors, that's tantamount to fiddling while the climate burns. Nonetheless, they're adopting Bush's playbook, downsizing their own carbon footprint to inspire others.
They know their individual cuts won't make much of a dent. Merinoff estimates the solar panels she installed last year have allowed her to avoid about 14,000 pounds of carbon emissions. The U.S. total in 2004 was about 7.8 billion tons.
But the point is leadership and education. Lablans wants people to see the TerraPass decal on the windshield and ask, "What's that about?"
"This is absolutely a problem we are capable of reversing," she said. "We sort of live in this immediate present, and we don't think really about what's going to happen 20 years from now. And right now, this group of people inhabiting the earth could change it."
Tim McCarthy, a Wyckoff accountant, bought a TerraPass to negate the impact of his Honda CRV, a sport-utility vehicle. McCarthy said he tries to make "ecologically friendly" decisions, like using his home air conditioner sparingly. But the CRV offers one convenience most hybrids just can't, he said: enough room for his surfboard, bicycle and camping equipment.
The desire to make a difference - and perhaps, assuage some guilt - is driving the growth in carbon-offsetting operations that cater to consumers.
Carbonfund.org, a non-profit based in Maryland, has enrolled 4,000 people worldwide over the last year, said co-founder Eric Carlson.
Donors can give $27 to cover the yearly carbon output of the typical automobile. A $55 payment will also cover the average American's emissions for electricity and heating. There's a $99 Zero Carbon option that goes further, adding in the greenhouse emissions you're indirectly responsible for - for example, the gasoline burned to get the food you eat to the supermarket.
"Our mantra is reduce what you can, offset what you can't," Carlson said. "This is not about SUV guilt. This is, I think, about empowering people who live a busy life. You live the lifestyle most of us have and it's virtually impossible to get back to zero [emissions] on your own. This way you can."
Carbonfund allows donors to direct their money toward solar, wind and other renewable power projects or planting forests that absorb carbon. Donors can also purchase carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange, a voluntary network of U.S. companies seeking to reduce emissions. By buying and then retiring credits, the group lowers the amount of greenhouse gases companies can emit. Contributions are tax deductible.
TerraPass, meanwhile, was founded by a team of Wharton Business School students. They adopted a for-profit framework to better attract financing for carbon-reduction efforts, said Chief Environmental Officer Tom Arnold. Retail customers choose from four options, from $30 to $70 per year, depending on the age and fuel economy of their vehicle.
Arnold said 6,800 people have signed up, most of them this year. They've helped offset nearly 50,000 tons of carbon, he added.
TerraPass says it employs a third-party auditor to assure customers their dollars are actually going where they're promised. But with the industry so young, some still question whether the money given to these companies is being wisely spent. Would a logging company have replanted the forest anyway, without the assist from offsetters?
"The key question is, is a project truly additional?" said Mark Trexler, a Portland, Ore., consultant who helps companies design greenhouse-zapping plans. "Is it causing reductions that would not have otherwise occurred? Unless you're doing that, you're not really carbon neutral."
Trexler said carbon trading markets are working on standards that should make the process more transparent, but for now, he says, "It's very much a buyer-beware market."
For the United States to seriously tackle global warming, carbon emissions would have to be cut by 70 percent or more – which would require a fundamental reordering of the energy economy, Trexler said. Buying offsets is a worthy step, he argued, but consumers should see it as only part of the ultimate solution.
"I'd tell them to try to talk to their neighbors about climate change and to talk to their congressmen," he said. "All of this other stuff is great but without the public policy changes, we're really not going to get there."