The greenhouse effect, or global warming as we more commonly call it, happens when the sun’s radiation is reflected from the earth’s surface and gets trapped in our atmosphere by the greenhouse gases which are present.

Though we do have a plentiful supply of those gases naturally, mankind has fed the supply with the burning of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. There are many ways to describe what’s happening now that global warming is taking place. Some equate its effects to the commonly coined butterfly-effect, where a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan, and a train is derailed in Minnesota.

The polar ice caps melt and cause the water levels to heat up and rise. This phenomenon is known as thermal expansion. The warmer water which is expanding is wiping out coastlines all over the world. And that’s just the start. Economies and ecosystems will also diminish as a result and leave both marine life and human beings in dire straights if the problem goes uncorrected.

While someone in the middle of America may not think global warming is an actual threat, someone who lives on the coastline around the great coral reefs would beg to differ.

One major problem that global warming is having right now is the decreasing fish stocks throughout the ocean.

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The greenhouse gases which are ever-present in the earth’s atmosphere help to keep a constant and livable temperature for all manner of life on the planet. Over the years, we have pumped far too many of these gases into the atmosphere in the form of fossil fuels and carbon, causing the planet’s temperature to rise.

Global warming is a legitimate threat which is guaranteed to affect many regions and ecosystems in our own lifetime. The consequences of letting this phenomenon continue to persist and incalculable. The ice caps are melting already, causing the water levels to rise due to thermal expansion. The amount of carbon in our atmosphere is destroying coral reefs, devastating biodiversity. These are just a few of the adverse affects we’re witnessing today.

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Our planet offers us some protection against dangerous and devastatingly deadly things in the universe. If the sun’s radiation could penetrate at full strength, our planet would be completely uninhabitable. It would heat up above 700 degrees in direct sunlight, and cool to minus 400 degrees without the sun, a temperature that is called absolute zero. By having an atmosphere, the Earth is protected from this phenomenon and essentially, it acts like an oven keeping a relatively consistent temperature.Half the energy that passes through our atmosphere from the sun is absorbed by the Earth’s surface. The energy that is not absorbed by the surface is then reflected back into the atmosphere where it is absorbed by a blanket of gases. The heat absorbing gases there are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen dioxide. These gases are called Greenhouse Gases, and though they occur naturally in the Earth’s atmosphere, they are also produced by humans. The more gases present in our solar system results in the more heat that can be absorbed. The result is our planets temperature rising. This is called the greenhouse effect, or more commonly, Global Warming.

Global warming is affecting our planet in many dangerous ways. The ice caps are melting and causing water levels to rise. This is known as thermal expansion. When the water heats up, it begins to swell. Warmer waters are forcing some animals out of their natural habitat. Marine life is very precise. It has evolved over billions of years to live in a specific climate and the majority of creatures cannot just readapt to changes as humans can. A few degrees does not affect us, we’re used to changing climates. However, it does affect many other species that are forced to move, or forced into extinction. The rearranging of these species is just one of the dangerous things taking place. This affects much of our ocean, and will eventually start to affect humans. The great coral reefs of the world’s oceans are already starting to see the adverse effects of global warming.

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I was sent a link today to an article on Business Green that “Study raises concerns over Chicago Climate Exchange offsets”.  While i have no problem with critical analysis, this article starts with author James Murray writing:

“Firms looking to offsets their carbon emissions have today been advised to steer clear of three high profile emissions reduction schemes after a study claimed that while they are delivering environmental benefits they should not be treated as a source of offset credits”

This is clearly a conclusion that would be troubling to 4Offsets, given our status as a participant on the Chicago Climate Exchange, if such a claim was justified.  In fact after making a statement containing much hyperbole about “steering clear” from CCX offsets, he supports the statement with the following quote:

“The study from environmental publisher Environmental Data Services (ENDS) claims that offset buyers should avoid credits emanating from the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme (NGACs) and Renewable Energy Credit projects, on the grounds that they were not developed specifically as offset schemes and as such do not adhere to the most robust offset criteria.

Tejas Ewing, author of The ENDS Guide to Carbon Offsets, said that while each of these initiatives were created for “worthy purposes” and are delivering environmental benefits the credits they offer should not be mistaken for offsets.”

Yes after the scathing claim that the CCX offsets are not upto CDM standards, he provides that statement as the evidence.  I don’t find Mr. Ewing’s statement as indicting the CCX projects, in fact he confirms they provide environmental benefits. Mr. Ewing is discussing whether these projects meet a stricter standard of CDM.  What the  critic (business green, not Mr. Ewing) fails to tell the audience is:

1. CCX offsets sell for $6 per ton, certified credits from projects meeting CDM standards sell for $38 (24.44 euros) per ton.
2. CDM projects are more expensive to verify and gain certification
3. UN Certification currently takes more than 2 years from filing till certification.

Most importantly, the CCX is “the only game in town” for the US market, it may not be perfect, but it’s a market with a significant number of CO2 emitters participating and agreeing to offset their emissions.  Since we are mainly a US focused business, we feel it’s important to participate in the US market and buy these voluntary offsets.  If we chose to only work with Certified offsets and pay $38 a ton, it wouldn’t affect the US market, Detroit Edison and Intel would still need to pay $6 a ton for their CCX obligations, not the $38 per ton i paid for certified offsets. 

More importantly, if we buy the CCX offsets, we have the potential to force the price emitters on the CCX past $6.  If you look at the CCX pricing, it’s gone up by over 100% since Super Tuesday (feb 5th) and Mitt Romney’s pull out, this has increased the cost of an offset and therefore increases the attractiveness to emitters of actually reducing emissions, rather than just offsetting them.

This article’s main complaint is ”they’re not as good”.  Wethink that is ok.  From my understanding, CDM and UN certifications are expensive and impractical for small projects. Worst of all it takes 2 or more years for getting your verified CDM project certified.  While i’m not arguing this is bad, it is expensive. If and when the US adopts a carbon cap, they will legislate what an offset credit is and the CCX will comply and enforce those regulations. Meanwhile i think anything that gets the US involved in the fight against global warming is good and that those companies on the CCX should be supported for leading the way.

4Offsets continues to support the CCX and the US market and is proud to be part of the private sector’s leadership in the America fight against global warming