Thursday Aug 16, 2007
This is certainly not the first offset framework out there, but it is one that a major bank is putting out there. Take a read.
<SNIP>
Aug 14 2007
Morgan Stanley has partnered with consultants DNV to form a “carbon bank” and advise companies that want to go carbon neutral, Reuters reports.
Under the new service, clients will compile their emissions
inventory and calculate their carbon footprint by applying the
monitoring standards of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative. DNV
will then verify these emissions inventories and calculated carbon
footprints. Carbon quantification, monitoring and verification will be
conducted consistent with ISO 14064 standards.
Morgan Stanley’s Commodities Group will procure and cancel carbon
credits equivalent to a client’s verified carbon footprint. Clients
will be able to select their preferred sources of carbon credits,
although all carbon credits will be generated according to the
standards of the Kyoto Protocol.
Carbon credits will be procured from various sources including from
Morgan Stanley’s own direct investments in emission reductions as well
as those of MGM International. Morgan Stanley acquired a 38 percent
stake in MGM last year.
Morgan Stanley said last year it would invest $3 billion in
environmental markets, including the trade in permits to emit
greenhouse gases, called carbon credits.
“It’s important the voluntary market expands on a responsible basis
to provide confidence these markets work,” said Morgan Stanley’s Olivia
Hartridge.
Thursday Feb 22, 2007
At least one company claims they've found a way to convert greenhouse gas (GHG) into useful materials within a "bioreactor". How? Simple: Make genetically engineered E. coli bacteria which will then produce an enzyme (carbon anhydrase) that will convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into bicarbonate. Otherwise known as baking soda. Or limestone.
I stumbled upon the article in Technology Review titled "Capturing Carbon with Enzymes, A New Process Turns Greenhouse Gas Into Useful Materials" tonight while doing my standard before-shuteye hunt for blogworthy green nerd news. (Thanks for sharing this, JiltedCitizen on Hugg.)
<snip>
A new way to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks produces a raw
material that can be sequestered underground or turned into substances
such as baking soda, chalk, or limestone. CO2 Solution, of
Quebec City, Canada, has already tested its process on a small
municipal incinerator and an Alcoa aluminum smelter. Its scientists are
now working with power-plant equipment giant Babcock and Wilcox on ways
to adapt the technology to a coal-fired generating station.
Sunday Dec 31, 2006
An interesting site and service from Better World Club, an eco-friendly travel club catering to eco-friendly
conscious travelers. The club is offering carbon offset options (certified by Climate Neutral Network) when flying. I'm still investigating this type of service as offsetting is a hot topic and there have been mixed reviews. Definitely worth tracking.
Wednesday Dec 13, 2006
As you know there is a lot of talk about carbon offsets. Some say it's hot air.
The latest articles are from C|NET or USA Today. There are tons more. What stirred a lot of this up is the idea that you can 'offset' your carbon footprint. For those that don't have a clue what I'm talking about, here is the new consumer guide that lays some of it out on the table finally, at least from an individual's perspective. The report, which seems pretty well done, claims this is the first time such an independent review has been made.
A few great factoids are at the beginning of the document as well and you know how I love factoids!
FYI, fine print at the bottom of the report shows that the folks who wrote the report are based in Portland. Maybe I'll go down there and introduce myself. They're not far from my house.
Oh, and how about this factoid - It costs about $4 to offset a ton of carbon and about $80 to offset the
20 tons of carbon the average American generates in a year, according to the source in this AP article by Terrence Chea. A tree absorbs more than a ton of carbon over a
100-year life cycle. AP
I
By Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP
Monday Nov 27, 2006
Last Friday the Oxford University Press selected "Carbon Neutral" as Word of the Year. It's true.
Erin McKean,
editor in chief of the New Oxford American Dictionary 2e, said “The
increasing use of the word carbon neutral reflects not just the
greening of our culture, but the greening of our language. When you see
first graders trying to make their classrooms carbon neutral, you know
the word has become mainstream.”
Runners up included (Can you believe 'funner' didn't win, as in' now that was a 'funner'.):
CSA
(community-supported agriculture: a system of food distribution where
individual consumers purchase a season’s worth of regularly delivered
allotments of the vegetables, fruit, dairy, or other agricultural
products grown on a small, usually family-owned farm or orchard.)
DRM (digital
rights management: hardware or software that controls access and use of
digital data, access and uses that may be disapproved of by rights
owners, but that are not necessarily illegal.)
dwarf planet
(a new designation for planetlike objects [such as Pluto] that are
round and orbit the sun, but have not cleared other objects from their
orbits. The word pluton was also proposed as a term for planetlike
objects beyond Neptune, with Pluto as their prototype.)
elbow bump
(a greeting in which two people touch elbows, recommended by the World
Health Organization as an alternative to the handshake in order to
reduce the spread of germs.)
fishapod
(a humorous name for a newly discovered fossil [Tiktaalik roseae] that
has features of both fish and land mammals and as such is considered an
evolutionary link between the two.)
funner (an informal/nonstandard comparative of fun.)
ghostriding
(the practice of exiting a moving vehicle and dancing either beside it,
or on the hood or roof, while the vehicle is in motion.)
Islamofascism
(a controversial term equating some modern Islamic movements with the
European fascist movements of the early twentieth century.)
pregaming
(the practice of consuming alcoholic beverages before attending a
sporting event or party, especially one where alcohol may be limited or
banned.)
