Comments on: Live Bad, Go Green http://climateprogress.org/2007/07/08/live-bad-go-green/ The Latest on Climate Science, Solutions, and Politics Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:15:20 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: John http://climateprogress.org/2007/07/08/live-bad-go-green/#comment-4690 John Sun, 08 Jul 2007 17:17:53 +0000 http://climateprogress.org/2007/07/08/live-bad-go-green/#comment-4690 The more you cover this, the more convinced I am that offsets will become an excuse for doing nothing -- the net effect will be to offset progress as we "offset" carbon in a manner that is difficult to verify, possibly temporary, and available only to the rich, who most need to change. I'm reminded of the mediaeval sin-eaters; poor folks who were hired by the rich to consume their sins, so that they might continue to sin. Preserving rainforests is a good thing, as is increasing investments in efficiency and renewables, but they need to be done as part of a comprehensive climate strategy, not instead of one. The more you cover this, the more convinced I am that offsets will become an excuse for doing nothing — the net effect will be to offset progress as we “offset” carbon in a manner that is difficult to verify, possibly temporary, and available only to the rich, who most need to change.

I’m reminded of the mediaeval sin-eaters; poor folks who were hired by the rich to consume their sins, so that they might continue to sin.

Preserving rainforests is a good thing, as is increasing investments in efficiency and renewables, but they need to be done as part of a comprehensive climate strategy, not instead of one.

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