Carbon Credits - What a Joke

Companies who can't or are unwilling to practice business in a way that allows for a cleaner environment are allowed to purchase carbon credits. Basically, if I emit 100 tons of carbon and am willing to buy 100 tons worth of credits, then I really have a net carbon footprint of zero... now I can advertise that I am a "green" company.

It is really interesting to me that at least 20% of the UN's Carbon Credits may in fact be bogus. Does it really come as a surprise that the UN would have a program that isn't actually all that it claims to be? Now, the UN is trying to change the way Carbon Credits are handled. So, businesses can't buy credits if the UN thinks there isn't enough validation in the way wind farms or solar plants or tree planters do things. (I can't see what could possibly go wrong.)

Still, companies claim that because they buy these credits, it makes up for their poor environmental policies.

I am a fan of big business... I want my little business to become a big business. I am all for profit and capitalism. But, let's not fool ourselves into thinking that it is okay for us to destroy the environment on our end of the world if we buy a bunch of solar power plants somewhere else in the world. Did you notice that the bag for Sunchips is not bio-degradable? Please read "Going Green is Marketing Ploy" Part 1 and Part 2.