Unless you’re walking or bicycling to your holiday destination, you’ll be using some form of transportation that burns a fossil fuel. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, where it forms a big warm gaseous blanket that hovers over the earth, creating something called the greenhouse effect. This greenhouse effect is causing climate change, which is one of the reasons why we have so many extreme weather events (like Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, and perhaps the unusually early cold weather and snowfall that have already hit much of the U.S. this year).

It’s pretty hard to go day-to-day and not burn any fossil fuels, but it’s especially hard when we’re trying to get somewhere, since transportation depends so heavily on carbon-heavy oil. That’s true for you electric car drivers, too, since your electricity is ultimately coming from a utility that probably uses coal, another carbon-intense fuel, to generate power.

Even when you’ve done everything else you can to cut back on the amount of fuel you use, you’re probably still using some energy that ultimately releases carbon into the atmosphere That’s your carbon footprint. The beauty of carbon offsets is that they help compensate for the carbon you emit by supporting projects and technologies that absorb or capture carbon and other greenhouse gases elsewhere on the planet. In other words, when you support an offset project, it helps shrink your own carbon footprint while reducing the build-up of more climate change gases in the atmosphere.

What Are Carbon Offsets Anyway?

Specifically, a carbon offset is a certificate representing the reduction of one metric ton (2,205 lbs) of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. These emissions are the principal cause of climate change. In an offset project, every ton of emissions reduced results in the creation of one carbon offset. Carbon offset projects can be very expensive to build and maintain. Project developers sell offsets to people like you and me, as wll as to cities and big companies, to finance the projects.

TerraPass funds a portfolio of projects throughout the United States which are all verified and validated under stringent standards. In addition to the environmental benefits from their projects, they also support local communities by providing additional jobs and funds to rural areas; helping to improve air and water quality; and delivering renewable energy to the grid. (You can see their project portfolio here.)

Some projects involve forestry management, which helps forests sequester (i.e. keep, rather than release) more carbon. Others help communities build wind farms to reduce the need to burn fossil fuels. A dairy farm can install an anaerobic digester to capture and destroy methane, another greenhouse gas, that would otherwise be released when animal manure decomposes. This graphic explains carbon offsets perfectly.

What Do Carbon Offsets Cost?

Projects like building a windmill or managing a forest sound expensive, don’t they? And they are, which is why the project developer sells offsets: to help finance their construction and operation. But the beauty of the offset approach is that no one person pays for it all. In fact, because so many people are buying offsets, the price to any one person is really affordable.

For the holidays, TerraPass is offering consumers the chance to shrink their carbon footprint by buying Arcata Community Forest Carbon Offsets. With the purchase of a Holiday Forest gift, you will support the City of Arcata’s community forest located in California. The forest absorbs and stores approximately 2,500 more metric tons (mT) of C02 a year than neighboring forests, or the equivalent of taking 550 cars off the road each year. The purchase of carbon offsets is a critical component of the funding for the management of the forest, which is completely self-funded with no reliance on tax-payer dollars.

How Big Is Your Carbon Footprint?

You can figure out how big your own carbon footprint is by using the TerraPass Carbon Footprint Calculator here. (It only took me a few minutes to calculate mine.)

Once you know how big your footprint is, here are a few ways you can shrink it:

For $13.12, you can shrink your footprint by 1 mT (metric ton), which is equivalent to 2,205 pounds of emitted carbon dioxide.

You might not think that’s much, but it’s equivalent to:

* 5 Homes decorated with lights for the holidays
* 2,381 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle
* 113 gallons of gasoline consumed (the average car holds 12 gallons, so you could offset ten fill ups with just $13.12)

If you want to do more, for $59.50, you could offset 4.5mT of emitted carbon dioxide, or 10,000 lbs.

That’s equivalent to:

* 175 holiday dinners, or
* 1 passenger vehicle off the road, or
* More than half of the electricity your home uses for one year, or
* 15 holiday shopping trips, or
* 4 to 5 flights of 4+ hours, or
* 10,800 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle

Wow!

True Confessions

One year for Christmas, my husband figured out my carbon footprint and then bought me carbon offsets as a present. I’m not kidding! And you know what? I loved it! I really did.

Next Steps

At the very least, I recommend you calculate your carbon footprint. Even if you’ve already taken a lot of steps to save energy, an offset can help you do a little more.

And you know what, even if your footprint is teeny tiny, you might still want to support one of TerraPass’ offset projects because they’re so inspiring.

Take a look. And let me know what you do, ok?

The post Use Carbon Offsets to Shrink Your Carbon Footprint This Holiday Season appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Why We Care About Climate Change

Karen warns at Best of Mother Earth that “we can look forward to extreme temperatures, super infectious diseases spread by insects that thrive on warmer temperatures, poor air quality and more. This is frightening!”

Sounds stupid, right? That’s what Beth at My Plastic Free Life thinks, especially after reviewing the film “The Age of Stupid.” “Set in the year 2055, after the effects of global climate change have basically wiped out most of humans and other animals on earth, a lone archivist records a message, illustrating it with a handful of the billions of stories he’s collected in a massive database he calls the Global Archive, before transmitting the entire collection into outer space as a cautionary tale to future civilizations,” reports Beth. “The big question: Why didn’t we save ourselves when we had the chance?”

Lisa of Retro Housewife Goes Green is wondering the same thing, especially since she lives in Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley, that part of the country that has seen a significant uptick in tornadoes and other extreme weather events over the last few years. “Oklahoma was a poster child for extreme weather last year, we had a record drought, broke the state record for most snow to fall in 24 hours, broke the record for coldest day, had the warmest July on record for the whole U.S., record windspeed, record wildfires, the largest earthquake reported in the state, and more.” Writing while facing another possible tornado just a few days ago, Lisa says, “This all hits home with me as I listen to the thunderstorm outside that has rocked the state and even dropped some damaging tornadoes. And I also think back to last year and all of the extreme weather, including the horrible drought that hurt the state so very much and caused me some sleepless nights worrying about the wildfires my dad, a volunteer firefighter, was out fighting.”

On the Big Green Purse blog, I highlight impacts that directly affect my kids – like worsening poison ivy. Most people don’t realize that poison ivy and its nasty cousins poison oak and sumac, are all getting much more dangerous because the plants are growing faster and bigger, and the toxic oil in their leaves is becoming more intense, thanks to hotter global temperatures. I offer some ways to avoid poison ivy and to deal with it once you get it, since in the short-term we’ll have to contend with it showing up more often in our yards and parks.

Lori at Groovy Green Livin’ sounds the alarm on an impact I care about almost as much as poison ivy: the availability of chocolate!

Chocolate is a heat-sensitive crop, Lori’s research shows. Even a small increase in temperature will affect the crops. A report Lori cites shows why there are big problems to come for the cacao tree:

…an expected temperature rise of more than two degrees Celsius by 2050 will render many of the region’s cocoa-producing areas too hot for the plants that bear the fruit from which chocolate is made, says a new study from the Colombia-based International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

“Warming temperatures and changes in the precipitation pattern will mean rapid declines in growing conditions over the coming decades. Not good news for the cacao tree and in turn bad news for chocolate suppliers and lovers on a global level.”

Abbie at Farmer’s Daughter reports on the impact climate change is having on another beloved food: maple syrup. “In my lifetime alone, the maple sugaring season has moved from March to February. Maple sap runs when it’s below freezing at night and warms up during the day. If we wait to tap trees until March we will have missed our chance. It is clear that spring has moved to earlier in the year and we have to adjust, tap early, or risk not being able to make maple syrup for a whole year…It’s a New England tradition, my family’s tradition, and yet I worry that some day we may lose it entirely.” Abbie is especially concerned about projections that indicate we could lose maple trees and maple syrup entirely by 2100.

Chocolate and maple sugar are two foods we may not be able to produce any more if climate change worsens. But what about the impact producing some foods has on making climate change worse? Katy of Non-Toxic Kids and Moms Clean Air Force identifies three significant ways factory farming contributes to global warming and suggests some very simple yet highly effective choices you have that can make a real difference.

Tiffany at Nature Moms loves traveling but worries that climate change could destroy some of our most beloved national parks before her family has a chance to visit them. “Climate change is melting the glaciers that make an appearance in some (national parks), which not only affects the beauty of these areas, it also means less water is making its way down to lower areas. Plants and animal life that rely on this water start to become endangered or extinct. Water sources that hikers need to survive start to dry up, making the area inhospitable. Scenic waterfalls dry up earlier and earlier and may eventually be gone for good. Can you even imagine Yosemite without its grand waterfalls???”

Do you have pets? Ronnie at Moms Clean Air Force does, and she thinks climate change is making them sick. “I’m worried that my pets (two dogs and one cat) are gravely suffering because our planet is getting too warm for them.” Ronnie reviews some of the available scientific research, but her own observations are most convincing. Her dogs are thirstier, hotter, and getting ticks much earlier than usual. She’s pretty sure her cat has contracted feline asthma as a result of the increased air pollution associated with climate change.

Stephanie at Good Girl Gone Green bemoans the impact climate change has on much bigger animals: polar bears. “When I think of polar bears, I picture a piece of ice with one stranded on top,” she writes. “Some might say it is a depressing way to think of them, but what is even more heartbreaking is that polar bears may not be around in 50 years. Extinct. Poof. Gone.”

What can we do?

Given the reluctance of some people to accept that climate change is actually happening, it’s important to be able to explain why it occurs. Dominique Browning’s Moms Clean Air Force interview with climate scientist Dr. Heidi Cullen provides a clear explanation and offers suggestions on how you can deal with so-called climate “deniers.”

Harriet of Climate Mama works with the Climate Reality Project to raise awareness. For Climate Impacts Day, she’s organized family and friends to visit the proposed site of a natural gas pipeline that would carry gas derived through hydraulic fracking through a state park. She and her colleagues are also holding a “teach in” on fracking to raise awareness between this controversial practice and links to earthquakes and water pollution as well as climate change.

Anna at Green Talk admits that in her household, wasting food is one way her family contributes to climate change. She’s not alone. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “The amount of food waste generated in the US is huge. It is the third largest waste stream after paper and yard waste. In 2008, about 12.7 percent of the total municipal solid waste (MSW) generated in America was food scraps. Less than three percent of that 32 million tons was recovered and recycled. The rest – 31 million tons – was thrown away into landfills or incinerators.” Why does it matter? “The decomposition of food and other organic waste materials under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the largest human-related source of methane in the United States, accounting for 34 percent of all methane emissions.” Her solution? Only buy what you intend to eat. And compost!!

For more ways to reduce food waste, check out the suggestions in this guest post from Aviva at The Scramble. Making a list and labeling left-overs are two simple steps that can lead to big savings and far fewer throw-aways.

Mary at In Women We Trust acknowledges that, in the face of overcoming a challenge as daunting as stopping climate change, it’s easy to feel like you’ve hit a “great green wall.” Mary is inspired by people in eleven nations in Africa who are working together to stop the Sahara Desert from creeping further south and turning all of Africa into an arid wasteland. “They aren’t doing it to lower Green House Gases,” acknowledges Mary. “They are doing it to survive, but at the same time, it is helping to lower GHG levels. Even the most die-hard denier can’t argue with the saving of a continent – especially when it’s producing such quickly appreciated results.”

At Big Green Purse, I’ve focused on the many ways consumers can use less energy as an important way to generate less carbon dioxide. They range from smart energy-saving driving tips to the top ten ways to save energy and money at home.

Never let it be said that, despite the seriousness of the challenges we face from climate change, we don’t keep our sense of humor! Deanna at The Crunchy Chicken offers a tongue-in-cheek run-down on the top five benefits of climate change. My favorite? #3: “Tropical weather without vacation prices.” Says Deanna wryly, thanks to climate change, we’ll have tropical weather all year long wherever we live – no need to tough out ten months of dreary winter or spend a fortune on a Caribbean vacation in January!”

Finally, thanks to Moms Clean Air Force for this cartoon and reminding us that the carbon emissions from our vehicles contribute significantly to climate change. In case you can’t commute in a toddler-mobile, here are some other ways you can burn less gas!

What impacts worry you? What solutions do you have? Please take a minute to let us know. Thanks!

The post Climate Change Impacts on Our Health, Our Homes, Our Families and Our Future appeared first on Big Green Purse.

With climate change on the upswing and even dogs needing to worry about exposure to toxic chemicals, I’ve come up with five things I’d ask Mother Nature for this Earth Day 2008 if I believed wishes really came true.

* President Bush signs a bill that will cut U.S. greenhouse gases 50% – starting tomorrow. Such bold action would help the U.S. meet recommendations issued by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and many world leaders that America, one of the globe’s largest carbon polluters, reduce its energy emissions significantly in order to avert drastic global warming. In reality, of course, last week, the President once again called only for voluntary actions that have virtually no chance of reducing the country’s carbon footprint even by 2025 – the President’s own date.

• Wal-Mart Urges Shoppers To Buy 20% Less. As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart is the scene of more shopping – and consequently the engine behind  more resource consumption — than any other emporium on the planet. The company does a great job offering consumers organic produce, organic cotton clothes, and concentrated packages that reduce waste. But what if Wal-Mart actually encouraged customers to ask “Do I need it?” before saying “I’m going to buy it”?  The impact on the environment could be world changing; consumer pocketbooks would benefit; and Wal-Mart’s own image would improve. In reality, the company intends to open more stores, not fewer, and there are no plans to tell consumers to cut back.

• Coal-fired power planets convert to solar energy. Burning coal not only contributes to climate change; power plants fueled by coal also emit the mercury that is polluting lakes and oceans, rendering fish unsafe to eat and endangering the well-being of pregnant women who eat those fish . We could solve a whole host of environmental problems if we stopped burning coal and switched to solar, wind, biomass, and other renewable fuels. The reality, of course, is that utilities are trying to build new coal operations in many parts of the U.S. and a new coal plant is coming on line in China every week. Though solar technology is expanding, it’s not happening at nearly the pace needed to displace significant coal generation any time soon.

• Congress earmarks $1 billion to help farmers go organic. Talk to any farmer and the major obstacle to transitioning to pesticide-free agriculture is the cost of the certification required to meet Department of Agriculture organic standards. Representatives and Senators never seem to find any funds to help farmers take this important step – even though they fork over billions so conventional agribusiness can continue plying the fields with toxic pesticides and herbicides. How about a few bucks to help farmers really go green?

• Companies ban the use of all phthalates in everything. Phthalates are chemicals called “endocrine disruptors,” compounds that affect the hormones our endocrine glands release into our body to control reproduction, growth and fertility. Phthalates show up in all kinds of personal care products: perfume, air freshener, hair spray, and more. Most companies justify including these toxins by saying that the amount in their product alone doesn’t cause the problem. But because so many companies use phthalates, our cumulative exposure can actually be quite substantial. And when they wash into our water system, phthalates can affect animals, too – you’ve heard of male frogs and fish born with female sex organs? That’s the effect phthalates are having.

Actually, this wish may not be so far-fetched.  Thanks to consumer demand for alternatives, Orly, OPI, and Sally Hansen, the country’s largest nail polish manufacturers, have promised to remove phthalates from their polish. That’s a good start. Now what about the other personal care products we use?

What’s your Earth Day wish? Let us know.

The post Earth Day 2008 Wish List appeared first on Big Green Purse.