Toronto, ON–It’s not easy to change the world without polluting it, at least a little.
This is the paradox faced by forward-thinking organization WorldChanging as they set out to tour their book, A User’s Guide to the 21st Century. Editor Alex Steffen will speak at the Berkeley Church (315 Queen St. E.) tonight at 7:00, along with Zerofootprint founder and CEO Ron Dembo, and internationally acclaimed photographer Edward Burtynsky.
WorldChanging is founded on the idea that the tools to build solutions to the world’s problems are ready at hand, and that we need only to get them in the hands of the right people to transform our civilization into something sustainable. That means not pumping so much carbon into the atmosphere that we heat up the planet any more than we already have.
But even people working to change the world have to get around somehow. So if you absolutely can’t avoid flying, at least you can offset your flight.
Zerofootprint, a not-for-profit based in Toronto, plays a vital role in making sure the book tour is consistent with WorldChanging’s commitment to massive cuts to CO2 emissions. Zerofootprint’s energy experts calculated the number of tonnes of carbon released by all flights on the 16-city tour, which equaled eleven tonnes. They then purchased this amount of carbon credits from certified offsetting projects, a process known as “offsetting.”
Offsets generally come in two forms: forestation programs and renewable energy projects. Trees store carbon, since they “breathe” in carbon dioxide, and produce oxygen. As long as the tree stands, that carbon is “sequestered.” About a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions are caused by deforestation. Renewable energy funded by offsets displaces fossil fuel-generated electricity, which contributes to global warming. Since all of the carbon produced by WorldChanging’s flights will be offset, the tour will be “carbon-neutral.”
Offsetting is not entirely free of controversy in the environmental world. Critics have charged that the accounting of the carbon savings is often fudged, and that the opportunity to pay a price for carbon emissions will encourage people to defer making the changes to their lifestyles necessary to avert dangerous levels of global warming. Others argue that offsetting projects in developing countries are a form of eco-colonialism that merely export our environmental guilt.
For this reason, Zerofootprint insists on transparent third-party auditing of all carbon credits, and does its utmost to ensure that all offsets are tied to a regimen of efficiency and the 3 R’s. It is possible for its corporate clients save more by following this program than they pay out in offsets. Also, all of the projects from which Zerofootprint buys carbon credits are based in Canada.
“The whole point of offsetting is to divert money and resources into technology and programs that will help solve the problem of global warming,” says Deborah Kaplan, Executive Director of Zerofootprint. “It’s not just about cleaning up carbon in the atmosphere. It’s also about preventing it by raising awareness and assigning a cost to something people might otherwise not think about. The sooner we start thinking about the cost of the carbon we emit, the sooner we’ll all be able to do something about it.”
About Zerofootprint
Zerofootprint provides information, products, and services to the global network of consumers and businesses that wish to reduce their environmental impact. Our organization focuses on three areas: Zerfootprint.Net , a content hub for the green community; Zerofootprint Energy , which specializes in making renewable energy systems financially accessible to builders and homeowners; and Zerofootprint Offsets , a program that helps companies, publications, and events mitigate their environmental impacts through natural resource restoration and carbon offsetting.
For more information, or to book an interview with Zerofootprint, please contact Talia Klein at 416.365.7557 or talia@zerofootprint.net.
To view photos from this event, please click here .