Carbon Offsetting

[vjsingh]

Anybody do any carbon offsetting? The fumes from our vans can add up quickly. I use mossy.earth to offset my flights and long road trips, they are plant trees and "re-wild" ecosystems in Europe. They seem like a great company, but I wish there was a similar one over here

 

[Knit]

Have you tried searching on something like “carbon offsetting america”?

 

[lenny flank]

I don't actually drive very much. Mostly I just drive from one city to another about once a month--then I take the local bus system to get around town until I move somewhere else.

Despite traveling all over the country, I average less than half the driving miles per year most people do.

 

[MrNoodly]

Living in a vehicle already leaves a tiny carbon footprint compared to living in a building. The lifestyle is one big offset.

 

[johnny b]

I just buy carbon credits from Al Gore's company in London...Generation Investment Management.  https://www.generationim.com/

Minimum to get into his fund is $1,000,000.

So I guess I'm covered for a lifetime of travel.  

 

[perj28]

We can't afford to buy carbon offsets. So every website I visit, I go through Ecosia. If my search rate stays consistent I should offset about 75% of my family's emissions this year. It's not perfect, but it's what I can do right now

 

[closeanuf]

I'm constantly amazed at the way people feel the need to justify their existence.  Excuse me for breathing.

 

[perj28]

^
I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who leave messes for someone else to clean up. It's the same laziness and selfishness that causes people to leave trash all over their campsites. Or the indifference to learning the impacts of their actions that causes people to bury toilet paper in cat holes & feed wild animals. Me, I try to take personal responsibility and clean up after myself the best I can. I don't assume that my actions have no consequences or that someone else can pay the consequences for me

 

[frater secessus]

I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who leave messes for someone else to clean up.

cf, "negative externalities", "tragedy of the commons", etc.




Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[John61CT]

We've been brainwashed to believe either

it's hopeless, future generations are doomed anyway, at least I'll be dead before the worst comes

or

technology will solve our problems, or maybe the species will escape to outer space.

Anything but try to limit our consumption to what is healthy for our Mother Gaia and sustainable for humanity to survive long term.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Sound like the earth religion had resurrected the medieval practice of indulgences: pre-pay for a license to sin.

 

[closeanuf]

Amen brother Spaceman.  But at least it makes them "feel good about themselves".

PS:  I do clean up my messes

 

[perj28]

Sound like the earth religion had resurrected the medieval practice of indulgences: pre-pay for a license to sin.

It's more akin to penance than indulgence. In the sacrament of penance, being sorry & making effort to reform are required. Likewise, buying carbon offsets isn't enough to cause change, personal reform is required. However, even with drastic reform, it is impossible to reach 0 impact without doing something additional to offset obligate impacts. Offsetting impacts by planting trees (by hand or through buying offsets) or dumpster diving helps atone for the wrongs we've already committed. Unfortunately, planting hundreds of trees per year is something most people aren't able to do or can't afford, which is why I'm glad there are free options.

Closeanuf: glad to hear you're carbon neutral for your lifetime. I still have about 500 tons to go before I've cleaned up my mess. It'll feel good indeed to know I did it myself.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

^
I would disagree.

Penance is an outward self-abasement because of an inward contrition: an acknowledgement of doing something wrong and a promise to not continue.

The purchase of indulgences was the practice of paying for a license to continue to indulge in the offensive behavior.

If you buy carbon credits for past practices while ceasing the offense, then it is penance.
If you buy carbon credits and continue the offensive behavior, then you have purchased future absolution; there is not true contrition because you continue the offense.

 

[frater secessus]

The purchase of indulgences was the practice of paying for a license to continue to indulge in the offensive behavior.

Church doctrine, to my understanding, has never discussed indulgences this way.  Even the egregious sale of indulgences that riled Luther wasn't claiming that.

 

[perj28]

Spiff- I looked it up, it turns out you're right about carbon offsets being analogous to indulgences in certain instances. If I were to offset enough carbon to compensate for the damage I've caused, I can continue offsetting, thus purchasing an indulgence for another person (though to be completely analogous, I would have to wait until that person had died). It seems that both of us were a bit confused as to what an indulgence actually is. Indulgences require that the sin already be forgiven, it's only lessening the consequences. I even forgot that indulgences are a normal part of current Catholicism. Thinking of buying extra offsets for another person as similar to praying for a person after they've died seems appropriate. 

I would say from what I read, offsets would be simple justice (if we were to confine ourselves to Catholocism for analogies). So the repairing of harms caused, with no reference to time frame. It also requires no reform, which both indulgences & penance do. It makes me wonder how Catholics go about confession with this (or other social sins).

Thank you for bringing up the idea of indulgences. It can be good to examine one's choices using different frameworks, I find the idea of "offering" one's works to mitigate suffering as helpful 

 

[phoenix]

I want my carbon footprint to be as big as possible. I do not subscribe to the junk science of global warming.

 

[ckelly78z]

I have never given my carbon footprint a second thought. I recycle all I can, combine errands into one trip, and use products until they wear out rather than needlessly replacing.

I also burn 5 cords of firewood every Winter, and mow my 10 acres with a big diesel tractor without one shred of guilt, and routinely have a large brush pile fire or two every year.

NO ONE is going to make me buy carbon credits from politician crooks who use the money for whatever reason they deem fit !?!

 

[Trebor English]

I want my carbon footprint to be as big as possible.  I do not subscribe to the junk science of global warming.

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

 

[mjbeam]

I didn't have any children so I won't leave an exponentially growing carbon footprint in my wake.