Carbon Offsetting

Global warming is caused by the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels to provide the energy and services we use every day. We burn fossil fuels for electricity (from coal and gas) in our homes and businesses, our cars, flights and to create the food, clothes and other things we buy and consume every day.

Carbon offsets enable individuals and businesses to reduce the CO2 emissions they are responsible for by offsetting, reducing or displacing the CO2 in another place, typically where it is more economical to do so. Carbon offsets typically include renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects. As more and more people are concerned about global warming and seeking to reduce their climate impact, carbon offsets, along with personal carbon reductions, provide an important solution to global warming. (Taken from Ecobusinesslinks.com)

Nicole and I strongly believe that if you want to change the world, you must always start with yourself. At this time in the world's evolution there are many important issues that will decide the fate of our present and future generations living on this amazing planet. With all of the major issues out there it's difficult to decide where to put your energy and dollars to fund the programs and organizations doing the important work. We believe that global warming is a major issue in our life. Each of us contributes to it in many ways, but each of us also has the power to create awareness around this issue and reduce our footprint accordingly. It starts by making choices about how much electricity we need to use in our homes. How much we want to drive our personal automobile. How many plane flights we can justify each year. How much food we buy that is produced locally.

Changing a lightbulb from an incandescent to a compact flourescent in your home makes a difference. Driving one day less a week makes a difference. Eating locally grown food makes a difference. Flying less on airplanes makes a difference. It all adds up.

Once you reduce your footprint and carbon production, you can now take one more step towards living a "carbon neutral" life by purchasing carbon offsets. Many different "for profit" and "non-profit" organizations offer carbon offsets. You need to choose what organization you want to support and what projects you feel are most important in your own eyes. They all have pros/cons, so you will need to do your own research. Good luck and remember that we are all in this together.

Here's a couple of articles that help illustrate the issue:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2007-03-02-offsets-usat_x.htm

How much does carbon offsetting cost?

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/carbon_offset_wind_credits_carbon_reduction.htm

Here's a couple of carbon offset organizations that we like:

Carbonfund.org

Nativeenergy.com

We are trying to keep track of and offset our carbon as we travel around the world. Here's a pretty close estimate of our 2007 footprint:

DreamKeeper's 2007 Carbon Offset Figures