Quite simply, you pay money to account for each tonne of carbon dioxide; or one of the other 5 common environmental pollutants that you create. ‘You’ can refer to individuals, corporations or political entities. So say, for example, that I generate 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and each carbon credit costs $20 per tonne. I would have to pay $200 to be carbon neutral; meaning, that I am paying a fee for each tonne of greenhouse gases I produce and this fee contributes to products that either sequester carbon, or invest in green, renewable energy projects. To summarize, I produce 10 tonnes of carbon and I pay to have ten tonnes removed from our atmosphere.

The Kyoto Protocol was initiated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and ratified (agreed to in principle) by 181 countries and the European Union as a whole, individual entity in 1997, and was put into effect in 2005. This protocol was proposed by the international community to address and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that have led to global climate change. Member countries are placed into different categories; Annex I countries make up the industrialized nations. Annex II countries are developed countries that provide financial support to the developing countries. The Annex II grouping consists of countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The third and final category makes up the developing nations, who have no limitations on greenhouse gas emissions as emissions are an essential byproduct to building a stable economy and raising their citizens out of poverty. Once these countries become ‘developed’ they are then subject to the greenhouse caps that Annex I and II countries currently have. Many countries are both Annex I and II countries. The allowable emissions for member countries are between 6 and 8% less than their 1990 emission levels; meaning the limit is different for every member country; keeping in mind that developing nations are exempt from emission caps and are ineligible to sell carbon credits.

It is up to each individual country to regulate their industrial outputs to meet the 1990 levels of emissions. Although the Kyoto meeting was one of many meetings that took place in the COP(Conference of Parties), it is the most well known because it is the conference that made countries legally liable for exceeding allowable greenhouse emissions. The Kyoto Accord is the teeth in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and is therefore synonymous with raising global awareness about climate change.

Typically, companies who explore, produce and promote alternate energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal energy sell carbon credits. Other organizations with available carbon credits include companies that destroy carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases directly. Carbon dioxide sequestration is the process of converting CO2 gas into a solid form by chemical or physical means. For example, carbon dioxide combined with quick lime (calcium oxide) forms limestone that can be used in construction projects.

The Clean Development Mechanism is a governing set of rules set by the Kyoto Protocol to determine which companies and projects can generate carbon credits.

This is necessary because anyone who sets up a company could promise that they were developing/using/investing in alternative energy sources, start selling carbon credits and make out like bandits while doing nothing to stop climate change. The CDM is not the only regulatory body to certify carbon credits, but they are the most well known. If you are purchasing a CDM certfied carbon credit, you know that you are investing in a company that has been thoroughly investigated and approved by the UN.

The other carbon credit certification bodies include the Chicago Climate Exchange, the Western Climate Initiative, and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the northeastern U.S. In addition, there are various standards bodies who set the carbon emission bar such as the Chicago Climate Exchange, the Voluntary Carbon Standard and the CDM Gold Standard (based on the Kyoto Protocol).

Key to the establishment of carbon credit generation is the concept of additionality. This principle is that a carbon credit isn’t truly environmentally beneficial unless the carbon credit producer would not have been able to reduce emissions or invest in researching renewable energy sources without the money given to them from carbon credits. This avoids giving money to organizations that would be doing the exact same business regardless of income from carbon credits. To summarize, the money your company earns from carbon credits must be put to additional greenhouse gas reducing initiatives. Who makes the decision about additionality? The CDM board has established a set of guidelnes by which they certify a company for selling carbon credits.

Home heating prices are lower than they were in 2007 but we cannot be sure how long that will continue. I had to investigate ways to use less home heating oil. I could not continue to put home heating oil on my credit cards. A few of my home heating oil bills in the winter of 2007 were over $900.00 each. In my research I found that saving money by conserving energy was much easier than I thought it would be. I used one less tank of oil last winter.

I credit these 5 items with saving the majority of that tank of oil. I did many other things too but I believe that these made the most difference.

Cover your hot water heater with a blanket. It helps to keep your water hotter. This really does help to keep the heat in the system. To save more energy lower the temperature on the hot water heater to 120 degrees before you cover it.

Wrap your hot water pipes. This also helps to keep the heat in your system and not escaping into the air. If you live where it gets consistently below freezing during the winter you should be wrapping your cold water pipes too.

Buy a programmable thermostat. I find myself not touching the thermostat anymore now that it’s programmable. It used to be too easy to turn up the heat before. So much so that I would hardly realize I was doing it. I would turn it up, get sidetracked and forget that I did it until I wondered why I was getting so warm. That was all wasted energy.

Lower your thermostat at night. The house does not have to be toasty warm when you are sleeping. As long as it’s comfortable when you’re falling asleep it doesn’t matter if the temperature drops a little while your sleeping. You can always throw on another blanket if you get cold during the night.

Now to address the fact that the windows are cold even if you have curtains. The cold windows do lower your room temperature. For those of you that have nice thick thermal curtains you are one step ahead of the game. I do not like to shrink wrap my windows even if it will help me to retain heat. I want to be able to open my windows on the nicer fall and winter days to let fresh air in. My answer to that was bubble wrap.

In the course of my research, I came across a few different sources that mentioned bubble wrap. I thought I would give it a try. You just cut it to the exact measurements of the glass. You lightly spritz the flat side of the wrap with water and place it on the glass. No caulk, no glue. no mess.

The heat in your room is not being canceled out by the cold air coming off of the windows.

These changes helped to make my home heating system more energy efficient because the heat was not escaping into thin air. It was helping to keep my hot water warmer and and to keep the heat available to my baseboard heating system. You don’t have to replace your old system to have your home be more energy efficient.

You don’t have to buy solar panels or a solar hot water system in order to make your home more energy efficient.  There are a lot of things you can do to make the home heating system you currently have more energy efficient.

It’s a win win situation. You are saving money by conserving energy and lowering your carbon footprint at the same time.  That’s good for you and good for the environment.

There are many things that you can do yourself. The most expensive part of this was the programmable thermostat. I bought all of my supplies a little bit at a time. Believe me, you’ll enjoy seeing those home heating costs going down with each and every delivery. I don’t cringe when I get those bills anymore.

The carbon footprint concept has resulted in the EPA proposal that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a pollutant. It is not a pollutant, but is essential for life on earth. The current level of 380 ppm is nearly the lowest level it has ever been in geologic history. Carbon dioxide levels have been 10 times higher than present. Plant life is starved for carbon dioxide. The higher the concentration the faster plants grow–and produce food. Scientists estimate that global food production has increased by …

GetConnected Host AJ Vickery demonstrates the HP Carbon Footprint Calculator, a handy tool for figuring out how you can save money, and save the environment! Season 6 – Episode 8.

BBC programme on Climate Change, interesting and informative

Many of us have some knowledge regarding “renewable energy”, some have concerns but the majority doesn’t know much. Here below are some very important things you should definitely know regarding this hot topic that may enlighten you for future decisions. A change in the way and methods to provide electric energy worldwide is becoming more and more widespread and urgent.

Clean vs not clean
As you may already know solar and wind power are two most diffuse renewable sources with an incredible and clean potential and with no damage for the environment and our lives. Traditional non-renewable sources such as coal and oil, on the other hand, are the most exploited and damaging power sources on the Earth with a huge impact on the environment and our lives. You may find interesting that only the 0.02% of the whole solar energy that reaches the surface of our planet would be enough to provide the energy we consume worldwide with no extraction or transport expenses.

Prices
In terms of money it may be true that coal and oil energy is cheaper in comparison with wind and solar energy but not in terms of lives. In fact studies have demonstrated that while 50,000 people a year -only in the United States- die for causes attributable to air pollution most of which is created by coal fueled power plants, no one dies for causes attributable to wind, solar or other renewable energy fueled power plants. So if one of the most advanced countries pays with the death of 50,000 people a year for its energy how much will other countries where the level of security is much lower pay? There is more, do you think that the life of “50,000″ people a year is worth the effort of trying to produce a bit more expensive (for now) but safe renewable energy? It has to be said that nowadays the prices for wind energy production have consistently dropped to the level where they can easily compete with traditional power production systems and solar energy’s technologies are in the perspective to cut 90% of the production prices by 2010 at no life cost.

The best renewable sources available
Indubitably the best renewable sources are wind and solar energy. And many are the reasons why we should say this: They are the most ancient energy sources available and since they influence our planet no damages have been caused. Human kind has already been using wind energy for at least 5,500 years for various reasons, and solar energy is vital for the whole ecosystem. Wind and solar energy ere constantly and widely spread, there is no need to mine or extract them, they are given to us for free Our global power consumption is a tiny fraction of their full potential They can easily be implemented in remote areas Best of all the pollution produced exploiting them is equal to 0

My hope is that now you have seen some of the benefits of renewable sources you’ll have a clearer vision and stronger consciousness on what renewable energy is and what it can do for us from now to years to come. There is much more to be said about this hot topic but it’s not possible to do so in a short article like this, anyway I would like to encourage you to do more research because every effort is worth.
In conclusion the free gift we have received with renewable sources is something that cannot be left behind or neglected anymore; it’s something that can make life better in a better world.