All Over the Board… » Humor, News/Insight, Techie » Carbon Offset Indulgences
Carbon Offset Indulgences
I wish I could take credit for this term, but I have to give credit to Charlie Sykes for linking today’s carbon-offset mania with the Reformation. Being a Lutheran, I was raised to know about the grounds for the reformation. I have to chuckle at the lengths we are willing to go to ease our guilt for living on this planet. I am in the process of replacing some windows so I save money and use less energy. I recycle more than the average person. I don’t think we should destroy the planet just for the heck of it. I believe we should take reasonable steps to keep the planet clean for future generations.
What is a Carbon Offset Indulgence? It’s hard to define, but I know one when I see it. Take the screenshot below. My dad needs a new PC, so I went to the Dell website to get some pricing. This screen allows one the choice to recycle their system for free. That’s environmentally responsible. I think PC makers have been slow to find ways to take back and reuse the materials from old PCs for new ones. It’s the bottom two choices that are interesting:
- Support reforestation: Plant a tree for me [add $6]
- Recycling Kit and Plant a Tree for Me [add $6]
So I am supposed to feel guilty for buying a PC and pay Dell an extra $6 to plant a tree? I didn’t know so many trees died to make my plastic computer. Before you tell me that the reforestation is supposed to offset the gases created by the electricity my PC will use, I’ll ask you how one $6 seedling will make a difference. My dad has 80 acres up north, and the forest plants seedlings all on its own. Maybe I should have my dad call Dell – they could give him a computer and pay him for planting all of those trees for them. I wonder how Dell feels about virtualization, which allows companies to be greener by using fewer physical servers.
Filed under: Humor, News/Insight, Techie · Tags: carbon offsets, Dell, environmental, HyperV, indulgences, reforestation, virtualization, vmWare
Hi Allen. The science and economics behind offsets are fairly sound. If you’re investing in CO2-reducing projects that wouldn’t possibly have been funded otherwise, then you’re reducing net global CO2 emissions.
Carbon offsets can be treated like indulgences—but people can (and do) misuse anything. Some people donate to charity, but create misery around them; that doesn’t mean charitable action is inherently tainted. I believe buying high-quality audited offsets is both ethical and laudable, as long as it’s never used as an excuse not to reduce personal emissions.
And yeah, the Dell offer is totally ridiculous, and a kind of mild greenwashing. Along with virtualization, other green options would be to buy used/refurbished systems, or better yet, not to buy new boxes at all.
Sorry Allen, but the ‘Indulgences’ reference was actually originally coined by a discredited faux-environmental scientist called George Monbiot and published in an article in The Guardian newspaper in London on 18th October 2006.
The world has moved on a long way (at least in Europe) with regard to Carbon Offsets since those days. I agree completely that the Dell scheme is a joke … but good Carbon Offset companies in Europe now focus entirely on retiring UN verified CER certificates, guaranteeing to avoid the additionality and other perils of a few years ago. Here is an example for you … http://www.clear-offset.com