4 ms·

That doesn't make sense. If you offset your GHG emissions you could be better than neutral. Perhaps you could even do it more effectively. It's the classic case

That doesn't make sense. If you offset your GHG emissions you could be better than neutral. Perhaps you could even do it more effectively. It's the classic case of the doctor treating and then using a percentage of his income to buy soup rather than working at a soup kitchen himself. In the latter case, comparative advantage is being thrown away.

ovi256 7y ago
There's no known way to sell (or buy) GHG offsets at scale. Current GHG offsets are all artisanal efforts that don't scale. Scale would be something like the Sleipnir field Carbon Capture and Sequestration, times 40000. That's what it would take just to stop increasing athmospheric CO2. The Slepnir CCS sequesters at best 1M ton CO2 per year. Human emissions are currently 40 Gtons CO2 per year.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  Yeah, but you're an individual. It doesn't have to scale. It only has to be economically comparatively advantageous to you doing it yourself. At some point the lack of scale will cause the price to rise to the point where your labour does not provide a comparative advantage. Prices are currently not there and I predict I'll probably be carbon negative for the next ten years and still come out ahead working in something else and just buying.
  - CalRobert 7y ago
    For what it's worth, if you're really hardcore about it buy some grazing land and reforest it with native species (if appropriate - in some places peatland or wetland restoration makes more sense). You'll at least sequester the carbon that was lost when the land was destroyed for grazing and you'll make it infinitesimally more challenging to produce livestock, a very carbon-intensive activity. In some places you can even get small grants for this - Ireland has a little bit of money for afforesting with native species, for instance.

4 ms·

That doesn't make sense. If you offset your GHG emissions you could be better than neutral. Perhaps you could even do it more effectively. It's the classic case

by scarejunba 7y ago

ovi256 7y ago
There's no known way to sell (or buy) GHG offsets at scale. Current GHG offsets are all artisanal efforts that don't scale. Scale would be something like the Sleipnir field Carbon Capture and Sequestration, times 40000. That's what it would take just to stop increasing athmospheric CO2. The Slepnir CCS sequesters at best 1M ton CO2 per year. Human emissions are currently 40 Gtons CO2 per year.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  Yeah, but you're an individual. It doesn't have to scale. It only has to be economically comparatively advantageous to you doing it yourself. At some point the lack of scale will cause the price to rise to the point where your labour does not provide a comparative advantage. Prices are currently not there and I predict I'll probably be carbon negative for the next ten years and still come out ahead working in something else and just buying.
  - CalRobert 7y ago
    For what it's worth, if you're really hardcore about it buy some grazing land and reforest it with native species (if appropriate - in some places peatland or wetland restoration makes more sense). You'll at least sequester the carbon that was lost when the land was destroyed for grazing and you'll make it infinitesimally more challenging to produce livestock, a very carbon-intensive activity. In some places you can even get small grants for this - Ireland has a little bit of money for afforesting with native species, for instance.