Can this all make a difference to warming of the Globe. Well, Al Gore seems to think so. The US's latest hero has stepped up to the plate, thrown his gauntlet into the ring and vowed to make a difference- by holding a load of Music gigs. Hang on there, we hear the whole of Europe cry! We were here first and our goals far outweigh those set by your beloved native country, America. Well, Mr Gore seems to see things a little differently to the rest of the west, and on this note, we have to applaud him. By avoiding what we in the UK have come to know as the "Nanny State", Mr Gore has seen the light, side stepped congress and government as a whole and gone straight to the Global populace in an attempt to make them think about what they're doing to their own planet. Unlike England's government and the European Union, Mr Gore's vision is for people power, rather than governing power to set the agenda. Almost visionary in it's concept, the idea may just make the difference needed. I mean, it is after all our individual carbon footprint that makes up this global mess we've fondly come to know as "Global Warming". Compared to the set of rules, regulations and doctrine passed down from what we term "Brussels", the idea of people power, whilst not new, may be very apt in this instance.
Lets put it this way- and I do hope Mr Brown gets to read this- Tell a kid that he or she isn't allowed to have those sweets and there'll be misery all around. Ask a kid to think about what those sweets will to to his teeth, weight etc, and you may just get some appreciation while at the same time resolving a tricky issue. That, I think is the key to Mr Gore's vision and it will work.
Okay, so it was a one off event, designed to bring awareness to the small matter concerning our planet and yes, we all agree it was a bit of a coup for Mr Gore, but that still leaves the cynics thinking about the rather big carbon footprint left by this "Global Awareness Campaign". Well, let me tell you... they're all going to go off and have some poor bugger plant some trees- just to soak it all up. Not a bad idea, but that brings us onto another sore point about this Global Warming issue and what you really aren't seeing yet....
It's called Global Greed and it's really a pretty sad state of affairs. Do a Google search for Carbon Offsetting and you'll get a myriad of responses, all for different schemes, each with one goal in mind. To make Money. Call it what you may, but this charity idea of saving the Planet has spawned a rather large series of egocentric, money hungry zealots out to take your money, make a quick killing and move on to the next big thing. I know we've said it before, calling it nothing more than a fad and we'll say it again. You pay these supposedly Environmentally friendly Conglomerates cash to plant a tree and off-set the carbon created by that bloody flight you've just taken and in a years time, when the scheme has closed because of poor management (probably the director taking the profits so him and his family can jet off to the Bahamas for a long break) or they've moved on to the next big thing... well, that small forest created for 1/10 of your donations will be ripped down and burnt because the soil is fertile once again, and planted with a crop of maze- which after a couple of years will leave the ground barren and no good for anything.
Carbon offsetting should not, under any circumstances be used as thee main method for tackling Global Warming. Unfortunately, at the moment, the idea of offsetting your Carbon footprint is a Cop-out, used by those who simply don't want to change their Cozy Lifestyles. Jumping on a New York to London flight may be great and leave you feeling rather powerful and better than thou, but planting a couple of trees costing you $25 each, just so you can sleep at night is really quite sick, particularly when seen in the cold light of day. I mean, you could have done the 2 hour meeting by teleconference and stayed at home during the day, but instead you opted for the same old routine. The jet-set life won't kill you but it may just shorten your kids lives. Believe me when I say that if I have kids, I'll be buying land at least 50 meters above sea level for them.
Carbon offsetting isn't a bad thing- but you've got to think of it as a tool- part of an arsenal that can be used to tackle Climate Change. It's not a means to an end and certainly not the de facto solution to a mammoth problem that faces everyone. Businesses are just as bad. Carbon Credits are just another form of offsetting and simply allow for trading between those companies that simply don't have a carbon footprint and those that do. I'm sure there will be a restriction in credits over time, allowing Companies to get their affairs in order- hence allowing for continued operation, whilst ensuring businesses aren't crippled by spiraling costs brought about through changing working practices, but time is not on our side and the idea of taking 10 or even 20 years to reduce our carbon output is pretty crazy, particularly when you see the damage being done in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska.
There's another issue that's pretty key when it comes to carbon offsetting and that's globalization and deforestation. We're ploughing cash into these Carbon Offsetting schemes, with a view to planting what will eventually amount to a few forests and if we're lucky it could make a difference. The only issue is that whilst we plant, others remove. With deforestation still rife in developing countries- the very same countries where we're creating these plantations, it could be said that we're just replacing the trees removed by the indigenous population. Or to put it another way, we're offsetting their carbon footprint and not ours. On that basis, if it's simply a like for like replacement and we're relying on Carbon offsetting to let us sleep at night, surely there's the possibility that we're not just producing the same volume of greenhouse gasses, but may- with our consciences clear- feel that this solution will allow us to do more Environmentally Unfriendly Activities.