CarboNation

Are you carbon neutral yet? It sure seems like everyone else is. Al Gore has wiped away his carbon footprint. The World Bank aims to be carbon neutral by buying only green energy. Sky Broadcasting is touting itself as the first major media company to go carbon free. So how does Joe Consumer drop the ...

608405_CarbonK_jpg_0.thumbnail5.jpg
608405_CarbonK_jpg_0.thumbnail5.jpg

Are you carbon neutral yet? It sure seems like everyone else is. Al Gore has wiped away his carbon footprint. The World Bank aims to be carbon neutral by buying only green energy. Sky Broadcasting is touting itself as the first major media company to go carbon free.

Are you carbon neutral yet? It sure seems like everyone else is. Al Gore has wiped away his carbon footprint. The World Bank aims to be carbon neutral by buying only green energy. Sky Broadcasting is touting itself as the first major media company to go carbon free.

So how does Joe Consumer drop the carbon habit? You could replace your furnace with a clean-burning corn stove, brew up some carbon neutral green tea, throw a carbon-free wedding, or only dine at carbon neutral restaurants, like Bordeaux Quay.

But, why change your lifestyle when you can buy a greener lifestyle? Carbon offsets, such as Green Tags, allow you to repent for your carbon-belching sins by investing your money in clean energy projects or planting trees. Yes, you can still drive your Hummer and feel good about the environment, so long as you pay to plant a forest or erect a solar panel (but please try not to crush them when you park).

How well these offsets really counter carbon production is up for debate. But the economics behind carbon offsets beg the question: What would it cost to make the entire U.S. carbon neutral through offsets? How about the entire planet? To answer that question, I gathered some data from the DOE and the EPA, and ran it through the Green Tag carbon offset calculator. Here are the results:

Cost of Carbon
Neutrality
 Tons of carbon
produced annually
 Green Tags
required
Cost of offset 
My
Household
 22.47 32   $640
 United States

 7.8 billion
(2004)

 10.1
billion
 $201.2
billion
 The World  27.7 billion
(2003)
35.8
billion

$715.7
billion

Less than $1 trillion to make the whole world carbon-free? Sounds like a bargain to me.

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.