The bird is the word.

so I'm sure everyone's noticed that TV shows have now gone "green". I saw a scrubs commercial lastnight about it and also noticed that the CW's website is green to signify their "going green", which is their partnership with stopglobalwarming.org. Their website actually has a carbon calculator. cool.

I couldn't help but wonder....what are they getting out of this? Most people don't have access to wind-generated or hydropower, but you can buy carbon offsets - or credits -  to reduce your carbon footprint. Lucky for  me, I live in Portland which gets alot of it's energy from use of dams and windfarms. I don't actually have to do anything about this, because PGE does. So when you buy carbon credits you are actually giving companies like PGE money to expand their use of hydro and wind power. Although I think this is wonderful I do have some reservations.

When you buy carbon credits you are most likely paying for some go-between company's overhead. Be wary of where you purchase them because most people believe that their money goes to erecting a new turbine or adding more houses to the carbon friendly power grid. Most of the time the money goes to a fund that the non-profit company has set up to run their program. Just be sure you know exactly what their program is and that you aren't reducing your carbon use; you're just paying a company to do earth friendly work for you.

Am I discouraging anyone from using carbon credits? no way. But, there are plenty of everyday choices you can make to reduce your personal impact on the earth that don't involve you giving your money to a fund.

here are 3 everyday resolutions that I am making to reducing my impact on the environment:

No Driving. Bus, Tram, Streetcar, Lightrail, Bike and Feet only. Alot of American's simply can't do this on a daily basis, but those of us who live in cities with public transportation have no excuse. I chose to live close enough to my work to walk, but I actually find  myself missing the 45 minute commute via bus or subway. I read more, listened to more music and felt like I got more quite time every day.

Refuse paper AND plastic. Almost all grocery stores sell reusable bags on the cheap and most will give you a discount for using them! Even stores like IKEA will sell you a gigantic reusable bag for .25 to lug all of your cheap purchases to the car. Just have to remember that bag for the next shopping trip!

Recycle. Most work places have ample recycling. I work in a scientific research facility and you'd be amazed at what items can go in our recycling from the labs. Not to mention paper, plastic, cans, etc. If your workplace doesn't recycle try contacting your city's waste/recycling department to set that up. It's insanely easy and people will think you are a hero!

On top of these insanely simple solutions I am making an effort to try these things as well.

-No plastic food containers (glass is healthier AND you can reuse it instead of tupperware!)
-buy recycled products (especially those items we use most...TP and laundry detergent)
-use my own coffee cup!

so bottom line. I'm not ready to give up 20 dollars a month to offset someone's budget. I'd rather start with what I can do myself. Although, I'm a little more guilt-free than most since I know most of my power comes from renewable resources. :)