Carbon Footprint

A concept I've heard a lot about lately is offsetting our carbon footprints.  Websites such as carbonfootprint.com help you calculate the the amount of CO2 you and your activities generate in a given amount of time.  Upon filling out the very detailed list of questions, including whether you have a bank account (0.4 metric tons/year!), you have the option of "offsetting" your nasty, evil, dirty ways with a modest donation which goes toward things like planting trees in Kenya or funding clean energy projects.  I have a real problem with this.

Now, don't think that I have no compassion toward our environment.  I always think twice before tossing my used plutonium rods out of a moving car window.  That's just good sense!  I participate in recycling programs at home, schools, and work.  I am very conscience of my consumption of things like gasoline, electricity, and fried white rhino rinds, although, that comes more from a money standpoint than environmental.  Could I do more?  Oh, without a doubt!  Does that "more" include spending my money instead?  No.

Does money solve the wrongs of the world?  Apparently so.  Or at least it makes people feel like they solved a problem.  If you get caught speeding, an action that presents danger to yourself and others around you, you get a ticket which can be taken care of with the right amount of money.  If you skip out on your family, leaving your ex-wife to care for your 7 kids, simply pay child support and the guilt is gone!  Everything is fixed with monetary restitution.  What about murder?  Yep, as was seen in the O.J. case, a civil lawsuit can even make you pay for those "boo-boos".

So now we can drive the big gas-guzzling SUV and still feel a sense of accomplishment by paying for the damage to the environment.  Whew, problems solved!  Let's leave all the lights on in the house while firing up the deep fryer and spraying aerosol cans out the window...right after we plant a couple of maples in the back yard (never mind the fact that we won't care for them and eventually end up ripping them out).

Here's an idea:  Don't do stupid shit.  Make an effort to improve your life, the life of others around you, and your environment.  I know I am lacking in the environmental steward department, but I'm not about to give myself a false sense of pride by writing a check for the difference.  That's like getting a D in Economics 101 but paying the school to raise it to an A.  I will take the D, learn from my mistakes, and try to improve next time.  I did learn quite a bit from the website about how much CO2 we as humans actually produce.  I just feel that this is another quick fix scheme that is conveying the wrong message to people.

No trees were harmed in the writing of this blog.  Although there was quite a bit of electricity used.  Damn.  Guess I'll hug a tree on my way out the door.