Remember back in October when I wrote about Saving the Planet? I said I would find a local organization that I could donate to in order to offset our annual CO2 emissions from our car, house and air travel.
Well, I've found the one. The Marin Carbon Project. I don't pretend to understand the science, so I won't try to explain what they plan to do in anything more than the most basic terms. They have figured out a way to sequester carbon in the soil and are working with land owners to do just that. Here is the big explanation of the project.
I used the carbon offset calculator at Terra Pass to determine my carbon output (carbon debt) for the year.
Our car put 12,227 lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Our house put 11,483 lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Our airline trips (5 round trips in all) put 2,569 lbs. of CO2 into the atmosphere.
According to the calculator, I can donate $160.65 to a carbon offsetting project and be carbon neutral. Although I don't believe this makes my life carbon neutral, or lets me off the hook. I do like the idea of some sort of reparation for my consumption of resources and CO2 output.
I don't even know if the Marin Carbon Project will take my donation. But I do know how to contact them and I will. I learned about them from my friend Tara, owner of Tara Firma Farms. She has met the leaders of the project and believes in what they are doing enough that she may allow them do test plots on her land.
I'll be purchasing a little Christmas present for myself. And it won't be made of plastic.
What will you do this month to work toward your sustainable future?
Do something. Anything.
It's Easy & Fun!
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