Greg Galitzine : Green Blog
Greg Galitzine
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Carbon Offsets

Carbon Neutral Campaign

June 15, 2007

Presidential candidate Chris Dodd who hails from TMC’s home state of Connecticut has announced a carbon-neutral campaign. The question is how many trees will Dodd’s campaign team have to plant at every stop along the campaign trail.   "All Americans have a role to play in securing our energy independence, and I'm excited that our campaign will do its part," said Dodd. "We must all do our share to begin turning the clock back on global warming and reducing our carbon footprint will go along way in stopping global climate change."   Dodd has teamed with the Carbon Fund actually to deal with the carbon offsets needed to make this a reality.

Carbon Footprint Secrecy

June 15, 2007

The issue of carbon footprint and the potential to be carbon neutral paired with using this information as a positive PR vehicle can be seriously hampered by a company’s need for secrecy. Google is not a huge fan of letting the world know how many servers it has and as such detailed “we are carbon neutral talk,” is seriously hampered. Here are some details on carbon footprints and secrecy from the Environmental Leader.

New Zealand PM on Carbon

June 16, 2007

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark says arguments against traveling overseas or buying foreign food because of the carbon footprint are "idiotic" and not the way to tackle climate change. This according to Radio New Zealand. The Prime Minister goes on to say there are better ways to tackle global warming.   In separate news, new Zealand and Australia will be join forces to develop a compatible carbon trading system.   In my mind a carbon trading system would indeed reduce the number of flights and put pressure on people to reduce purchasing imported food. Somehow these two news items seem opposed to one another but perhaps the PM sees other ways to reduce carbon besides the ones she calls idiotic.

Green Hiring May Be Illegal

June 19, 2007

In the perfect green world we would all commute no more than a few miles to work and do so in vehicles which require the least amount of fuel. In this scenario employees could even bike or walk to work on many days. Imagine how much energy would be saved in fact in an efficient distribution of workforce talent to companies located near where the talent lives.   The only problem here is it may be illegal for employers to ask questions about the vehicle employees drive or where they live. You certainly aren’t allowed to make a hiring decision about someone because they live at a certain address.   These rules of course are there to ensure companies do not discriminate but it may in fact also ensure companies are not able to minimize their carbon footprint effectively.   While I am no HR expert, it seems there may be a need to loosen up a hiring regulation or two so companies with a  green conscious can act more responsibly.

Carbon Footprint Calculators

July 3, 2007

Here is a list of carbon footprint calculators. If you are interested, Nigel’s Eco Blog will be testing some of these over the next few weeks. I tried the BP calculator (Flash version) out and was pretty surprised at how large a footprint a single household can have. This is especially true as my business requires me to be on an airplane constantly.   Awareness is certainly something that will help reduce carbon emissions.

Corporate Carbon Footprints

July 4, 2007

Yesterday I discussed carbon calculators and it is no surprise that there are so many ways to calculate your carbon footprint. Forbes decided to tackle the corporate carbon footprint concept in an article today and surprise – the article also details how complicated it is to calculate carbon emissions for companies.   But it seems that Starbucks can attribute about two ounces of carbon to the environment for every cup of coffee it serves. This doesn’t include the carbon needed to transport the coffee from store to store. Interestingly, one wonders if it makes sense to not take into consideration whether buying coffee at a retail outlet results in more carbon emissions than brewing the coffee yourself.

Are You a Greenocrite?

July 5, 2007

I have to agree partially with Tom Young of VNUNET when he says companies have to do more to be really green. It is easy to make announcements but backing them up is always a challenge. Still, the trend towards thinking green has improved corporate recognition that organizations can make the world a better place and save money at the same time.   I always have to wonder though, when I hear stories about people driving more than 100 MPH in a Toyota Prius… To be green must we change every aspect of our lives? In other words, are you better off driving 100 MPH in a Hummer than a hybrid?   The point is, are we too focused on calling each other out if we are not as green as possible?

Live Earth More Good Than Harm

July 7, 2007

Greg has a post titled Live Earth More Harm Than Good? Which points out the negatives associated with producing massive amounts of carbon gas in an effort to reduce the amount of carbon gas we generate. Quite a dilemma, right?   Really, the naysayers are wrong on this one.

Did Live Earth Mean Anything?

July 9, 2007

Absolutely according to this article from Time Magazine. The article on the topic does talk about the concept of just staying home as a better way to cut carbon emissions. But in the end, as the author points out… If these events make the concert-goers [and the rest of the world] change their carbon emitting ways and also push politicians to promote such policies, then the concert was worthwhile.

Vietnam Green Fund

July 19, 2007

I am intrigued with government initiatives such as this which allow for a trust fund to be set up whose purpose is to help companies go greener. In theory, companies in Vietnam of a certain size who qualify will be able to receive credits for reducing their carbon emissions. I wonder if something like this could take hold in the US.
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