Green Year

So Ray Allen and I need to go to Lovelock on Wednesday, to meet with the Pershing General Hospital and explain why we want to build them 90KW of solar power for free. Which means flying to Reno. Which means pollution, carbon, all that bad stuff the solar power is designed to offset.

Enter Terrapass. I’d heard of them before–you buy some offsets, fly a little less guiltily. But this was the first time I’d seen ( noticed? ) them embedded in the sales options at Expedia. So, I clicked and bought two. Easy, peasy.

But what, exactly, had I purchased? According to their site,
“TerraPass purchases and retires Green-e certified renewable energy credits from wind farms across the country. These wind farms generate electric energy that might otherwise come from the burning of coal or oil. In this way, Wind Power takes CO2 emissions out of the energy producing cycle. And that combats global warming.”

Hmm. Is that additive? I mean, does it make a real difference? Decide for yourself, a good place to learn more is right here. As for me, I’ll keep buying them–if NOTHING else, they’re a small reminder that their are hidden costs for all the jetting around I do, a bill my ( gulp ) kids are gonna have to pay.

Quick thought, while looking at the copious, delightfully packaged goods set out for guests at your average posh hotel ( all conveniently branded with the logo of their in house spa):

If you use anything-shampoo, conditioner, soap, whatevs, take it home when you leave. It’ll offset your need to buy more just a little bit longer, and the odds are much higher you’ll recycle the packaging when you’re done. Otherwise, the housekeeping staff, on stiff orders to present each guest with a pristine set of their own, will chuck anything that’s been opened, even if the seal was just broken.

And please tell me you’re not leaving the towel on the floor so they’ll replace it. You do? Shame on you–at home you prolly use towels a half dozen times between washes, you can do the same here.

I’m taking one: I’m just too damn tickled about the story on the fracking front page of today’s SF Chronicle not to post it here, too.

I know, fire pits ain’t good for nuthin’ cept creating carbon, and we should probably do some offsets or something, but that comes later.

Today, we celebrate that in San Fran Freak Show you can get the federal government to help pay burners to create public fire art, and the fact that I’ll be helping, in my own small way, to leave a lasting mark on this city I love.