By Paul Smith •
February 7, 2008
Like this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.
You’ve probably heard about carbon offsets. They’re everywhere these days, and it seems not a week goes that I don’t hear about a company pledging to go carbon neutral. And yet, it all seems so…full of hot air. What’s real? What do they really do? Which will make the most impact? How are the different purveyors, well, different?
I have a suggestion: Take a look at LiveNeutral.
Why? Well on a basic, financial level, they are a non-profit. And? And that means that offsets purchased through them are tax deductible. More, you say? The resulting lower overhead means better priced offsets as compared to similar for-profit companies offering similar quality offsets.
By mcmilker •
January 13, 2008
Many of us obsessively use one or two credit cards to hoard miles on our favorite airline or earn reward points for future purchases. Now, thanks to Brighter Planet you can reward Mother Earth with every purchase you make.
Brighter Planet, the brainchild of two college students and their economics professor at Middlebury College, ties carbon offset credits to credit card purchases. The interactive website lets users enter as much or as little personal information as they want and calculate their carbon footprint. The site can be updated manually, based on changes in activity and is automatically updated monthly based on carbon offsets earned using the Brighter Planet credit card.
It took me just a few minutes to set up a profile, which admittedly is not as comprehensive as other calculators available as it is based on averages by zip code and doesn’t include things like type of heating system and amount of public transportation used. But still, it’s a start.
By jenbaele •
December 11, 2007
Hi everyone!
Do you find yourselves searching for a green holiday gift that’s hip, relevant, and makes a difference in the fight against climate change? Well, look no further than WE ADD UP. WE ADD UP is a brand new global warming awareness project! It’s a global count of people committing to help fight global warming by taking simple steps in their everyday lives that make a big difference. WE ADD UP is an organic [...]
Actor Neil Flynn — who plays your favorite comic villain on a certain sitcom — lets us know that everyone in the world relies on nature for survival. And when he’s not practicing taxidermy, this bully shows us how climate change is affecting nature and people and… janitors!
By happyhighways •
October 1, 2007
Using this Driving Directions and Fuel Efficiency Tool you can calculate the dollar and environmental cost of your daily commute, or almost any other type of trip you make in your car. The various ways we can reduce our fuel consumption have been widely published, but many people do not understand the impact each change in their driving behavior will make.
So every big corporation is green now, huh? That’s apparently what I’m supposed to believe based on every other commercial on prime-time TV: Walmart, esurance.com, Waste Management, GE, Delta, Coca Cola, and on and on. But, to one degree or another, I’m not buying it.
Sure, some companies are doing some things to reduce their carbon footprints or save energy … but, in plenty of cases, those are moves
[...]
By Jennifer Lance •
September 12, 2007
How green is your child’s school? Chances are, if your child attends a public school like my daughter, it is not a very green place, especially if it is an older facility. Kelli has already written about ways to make your individual child a greener student in "Think Green For Back to School" and Chris Baskind offered Green Options readers "Five Ways to Green Your Child’s Classroom." But do
[...]
By Noelle dEstries •
August 17, 2007
I have yet to find my way out to Burning Man, but I have a bunch of friends how are hardcore burners. A few of my friends from Renewable Choice have even built an art car for the playa- look for a giant bus sized piece of burning sage driving around and say hi to the guys for me.
This year is the dawning of the Green Man- Burning Man’s attempt to take things in a more eco direction. They are encouraging burners to offset their carbon emissions, use biofuels and renewable energy, compost their foodscrapes, and all the other greenie things you should do like recycle.
My favorite snarky blog Valleywag has a more cynical look at things (they wouldn’t be Valleywag if they didn’t)…
By Noelle dEstries •
August 13, 2007
Google has weighed in on the whole Black Google meme (the idea that a black google home page uses less energy than a white page) and the news is not good for sites like Blackle. According to Goggle’s green energy czar, a black screen on flatscreen panels actually use more energy than a white page. Add in the fact that flat screen panels already make up 75% of the market and growing and you [...]
By Jennifer Lance •
August 1, 2007
Often people ask me, what is it like living off the grid with young children? The truth is, I have never not lived off the grid with children, so I am not sure how it differs entirely. However, my children have grown up learning about sources of power and its limitations.
We are fortunate to have a wonderful creek that provides us with power via a turgo wheel
[...]
