Although I try to be vigilant in reducing the amount of energy I use and pollution I create, especially CO2 pollution that is playing a critical role in global warming, there are some things that are very difficult to avoid while living in our society today. If you drive at all, no matter how green your vehicle, you are creating some pollution. The same can be said for taking a commercial airline flight during a vacation. It's also becoming nearly impossible to buy something that doesn't have some element of plastic created from petroleum either in it or in its packaging. Even typing this blog post is using electricity that was created by a power plant that more likely than not burns coal to create that energy.
If you are lucky enough to live in an area that provides electricity through renewable sources (wind, hydro), you can make a choice to eliminate that last source of CO2 creation. But, what if you don't? What is a conscientious, environmentally aware citizen to do? Well, one option is to invest in carbon offsetting.
I invest monthly in a company called NativeEnergy that in turn invests in projects that use wind and methane to produce energy. For every ton of global warming pollutants that I can't avoid creating, I invest in these projects to create an equivalent amount of clean energy that will be used by communities near these resources. This is known as "offsetting". Eventually the hope is that through continual investments into clean-energy projects from an ever-growing segment of society these projects will grow in number and size to a level that will directly compete with the use of polluting fossil fuels.
From NativeEnergy:
With NativeEnergy, you can help finance and build new clean and renewable energy projects that help Native Americans and Alaska Natives create sustainable economic benefits, and that help America’s family farmers compete with agribusiness. These projects will displace electricity from fossil fuels and reduce other greenhouse gas emissions on your behalf, making up for the CO2 emissions you can’t avoid.
What else can you do TODAY?
Recently, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) led a delegation of ten United States Senators to Greenland to take a first-hand look at the devastating effects of global warming. They saw evidence of glaciers that are now melting at an astonishing rate. Unless we act, this melting will lead to a catastrophic rise in sea levels.
That's why we must act now to to help pass the Sanders/Boxer global warming bill, S. 309. Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide is the single most effective strategy to fight global warming.
Please join me in urging your own Senators to co-sponsor the Sanders/Boxer global warming bill now.