Carbon offsets: buying time | Local discoveries | Reportage | New poll | Homework | Kurt Vonnegut speaks out
Carbon offsets: buying time [next item]
Last post I outlined for everyone what a carbon footprint is and why it's important. With the clock ticking on greenhouse gases, the question of how we can change our habits to start making an impact is urgent, but doesn't always come with easy answers.
One approach, although sometimes controversial, is to support carbon offsets. This is a means by which you can counterbalance energy and fuel use that you can't avoid. There are several carbon offset companies out there (we'll review a couple next time) which offer the purchase of carbon 'credits' (so to speak) from projects which pursue measurable reductions in energy use. Things like methane consumption, energy efficiency, and wind farms or alternate energy projects. These are projects that seek ways of reducing carbon footprints on a much larger scale, so when you support them you help ensure their success. The exchange is a reasonably sound approach to reducing carbon, but some opponents argue that it's just a glorified conscience tax (or if you prefer the religious parlance: penance). Which is a legitimate argument if this all you plan to do to help stop global warming. It's important to keep in mind that these kinds of efforts are most beneficial as part of an overall energy diet.
So carbon offset companies allow you to buy credits to offset, say, the carbon cost of your summer road trip or cross country flight. Many of them also offer an assessment of the annual carbon cost of driving your car or running your home. And it's surprisingly cheap. For instance, a round trip flight from Vancouver to Toronto is 3343 km and emits .732 tonnes of carbon dioxide while you personally use up 314 litres of airplane fuel while you ride along. If you bought an Offsetters flight offset for this trip it would only cost you CA$13.79. Not bad. Of course, that only balances your emissions. If you want to contribute to reducing them, you might want to consider paying for a bit more. Still, anything that you do now which is a personal reduction is better than what you were doing before.
Carbon offsets are a fairly meaty topic (that's firm tofu for you vegetarians out there), so I'd like to do part B on carbon emissions next time.
For now, do me a favor and consider investigating the purchase of a carbon offset for any air travel you'll be doing soon. It's a good way to get your feet wet, and it won't cost you a fortune. Please report back to us here and let us know what a good traveler you are when you do!
Recent local discoveries [next item]
As we spring into Spring, we have a bumper crop of items to check in on. I'm hoping to make some of these items regulars, so be sure to keep checking back to stay updated.
Spring Clean-up Week, April 23–27
The City's annual clean-up effort is coming up. This is the time when you're allowed to put out extra refuse for no extra charge. HOWEVER... I'd like to encourage Terrace residents to take this opportunity to increase their recycling efforts instead of increase their contributions to our local landfill. That means, if you have large, bulky items like old furniture or household items, consider donating them (if they're in good condition or easily repaired) to a thrift shop or someone you know who could make better use of them. Also consider how much of your garbage is conventionally recyclable. If you're frustrated with hauling your recycling around, consider contacting Terrace's own Do Your Part Recycling Company and let them do it for you.
Our recycling poll results can be found below.
Compost collection
Starts next week. Collection is only on Mondays, and starts on April 16th. Remember: composting is an important way to reduce landfill content by separating plant waste from non-biodegradable landfill content and allowing it to degrade naturally.
Consider: composting your kitchen leftovers and vegetable matter and using it in your own garden. It's cheaper, cleaner, and you know where it came from.
Earth Day April 22
All Terracites who are concerned about climate change (aka: global warming, climate crisis, "is it hot in here or is it just me?"...) should mark their calendars for this international annual observance. You don't have to wait for Earth Day to start acting, but if you need a calendar event to light that fire underneath you, then make the most of it.
And just to make sure you do, Terrace's young rotarians from Rotaract along with Do Your Part are conducting their first annual Earth Day Recycle-a-thon. From 12–3 on April 22, you can drop off your recyclables and used garden tools (please offer a cash donation for the service, too) in the Canadian Tire parking lot. Proceeds go to the Terrace Anti-Poverty Community Gardens. (For more info call: 635-5756)
Reportage [next item]
The most recent Council Agenda Package was made available online this week. Now, I'll admit that I'm no expert at reading these things. It's a lot to wade through. There did appear to be a remarkable lack of any dialogue about environmental/energy/climate related concerns within the minutes or agenda. But it's worth noting that the Council received (2 April) a letter from BC Hydro regarding their Turn it Off Challenge (starting June 1). The Challenge is promoted as a way for city councils and organizations to lead the way in energy conservation citing that if only 25 office employees turned off their workstation lighting during non-working hours they would save enough energy to run a residential home for one year. The implications of a city-wide observance of this are reasonably impressive. If we got only 2500 office employees to do this, we'd be able to save 100 times that. Here's hoping that the Council will bring this initiative and many others like it to the forefront in the near future.
New poll [next item]
We have a new carbon offset poll for you! And a bonus poll. Please submit your votes and check results for the polls in the right column.
Our last poll results are as follows:
Do you recycle in Terrace?
54% — Yes, every chance I get!
15% — Some stuff. It's kind of a pain.
0% — No, never.
31% — I don't, but I would if the city offered a service.
Total: 13 votes
What's interesting is that none of our poll takers ignored recycling altogether (or wouldn't admit it), but nearly 1/3 of the poll takers were willing to say that they don't recycle, but would be motivated to do so if the city would facilitate it. Imagine a 30% reduction in Terrace's landfill! Is anyone from the city out there reading?
Homework [next item]
- Compost your kitchen leftovers
- Collect recyclables and garden tools for Rotoract
- Plan your Earth Day reductions
- Look into purchasing a carbon offset for air or car travel for this season and report in!
- Actually, I'm just going to assign a general homework assignment of reporting in for everyone. Let me know you're out there! Use the comment link below each post... you can even do it anonymously. But start talking! I've gotten a few email suggestions, but would like to see a more interactive environment here, too.
Kurt Vonnegut [back to top]
In memory of this great author, I'd like to pass these on:
If flying-saucer creatures or angels or whatever were to come here in a hundred years, say, and find us gone like the dinosaurs, what might be a good message for humanity to leave for them, maybe carved in great big letters on a Grand Canyon wall? Here is this old poop's suggestion: WE PROBABLY COULD HAVE SAVED OURSELVES, BUT WERE TOO DAMNED LAZY TO TRY VERY HARD...
— Kurt Vonnegut
When the last living thing
has died on account of us,
how poetical it would be
if Earth could say,
in a voice floating up
perhaps
from the floor
of the Grand Canyon,
“It is done.”
People did not like it here.
— from Requiem by Kurt Vonnegut
Carbon offsets: buying time | Local discoveries | Reportage | New poll | Homework | Kurt Vonnegut speaks out | Back to top
Tune in next week when we go into more carbon offset detail and report on new developments. Same bat time, same bat channel.
Anybody who has suggestions or has found interesting/innovative solutions for themselves, please share!
