My thoughts on carbon offsetting, etc. My thoughts on carbon offsetting, etc.

As many know, there has been a real hubub since Al Gore won an Oscar for his movie on Global Warming AND was found to be using much more than his share of carbon based energy. He apparently justifies his prolifigate usage through a system of carbon offsetting, where he purchases carbon offsets (apparently from himself, but that is a different story).

But the more that carbon offsetting is investigated, the dodgier it looks. For example, one scheme that has been played out more than once is for the people wanting carbon offsets to purchase the planting of trees in Third World countries. They then took the expected carbon absorption of the trees over the next 99 years to offset their current carbon emission footprint.

So, no surprise that a lot of people have jumped on this scheme and pointed out its idiocy and hypocracy. For the most part, it just doesn't work. If there is CO2 generated Global Warming, CO2 absorption 98 years from now is essentially irrelevant. Plus it has all sorts of adverse economic incentives.

But maybe something good will come of this. First, it may actually reduce some of this bogus carbon offset trading. And that may lead to some of the more prolifigate abusers, like Mr. Gore, cleaning up their own act. The abject hypocacy of someone who uses over 20 times the national average of energy to power one of his three mansions and then lectures the rest of us on our duty to reduce this sort of thing may ultimately be called for what it is.