11 Comments

My impression is that these are just environmental indulgences, instead of paying the church to sin you pay a landfill or biotech startup. Meaningless branding

Expand full comment
author

They're not quite meaningless, at least the "higher-quality" ones aren't. But they're a half solution masquerading as a full solution. I'm emitting, you're emitting, I purchase an "offset" by paying you to stop emitting. That's good (you stopped emitting), but not good enough (I'm still emitting). You claim victory, because you stopped emitting; I claim victory, because I bought an offset; but in reality it's only half a victory.

Expand full comment

It's a little aside from the point (maybe, but, maybe not) what Jacob refers to is an important intellectual consideration, insofar as the world has been structured in Westphalia Treaty's Nations and they're Replicas (colonies, etc.) and inextricable from that is a certain perspective on Sin, "our nature is fallen, this can't be repaired, the Hierarchies of state suppress it's evidence in public," and that this both informs our technocracy, "it's tools are those of theocracies, after all," but that also this informs our optionalities; Cocaine is a Crop like Tobacco, "what would the Tokugawa Shogunate do," Not institute peace, but, Demand that it's Vassals Make War on those who would perpetuate this, and that this would not be in Newspapers or Bulletpoints, but, High-High-Context Discourses, "cull the Sobriety-Culture and it's Cultists," take,

https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/david-graeber-to-save-the-world-were-going-to-have-to-stop-working/

That advice, "and in this world: that still holds," remember what happened to Carlos Ghosn; the soldier who got him out of Japan, "and into Lebanon," is losing fingers to the Cold in Japanese Prison, He was not permitted to negotiate his, "High Volume/Low Margin," philosophies, simply, was not, and it's as much our hangover from the Ancient Roman Patricidal Prohibition that would blanch at the thought that this were right but reconcile ourselves to service clerks still dying from exposure to Covid 19 in Coercive work/housing arrangements, made on both ends, by, known-knowns, looks-them-up-in-the-phonebook, people; you know?

Expand full comment

*Their Replicas, "Criminey, Jonathan, come on now."

Expand full comment
Apr 12, 2022·edited Apr 12, 2022

My father owns land in Brazil and to me it’s the old story of the little guy always getting screwed. Brazil has one of the strictest regulations on preservation, we have to preserve up to 80% of the land we own. I used to live in England, my dad came visit and as we drove by Nottingham forest I said: look dad, that’s the iconic Robin Hood forest. He smiled and said “this was all forest before”. If we have some sort of balance and we are not all under the water today is because some are emitting CO2 and some are capturing. So next time you take a flight remember my dad’s forest is absorbing your carbon so we don’t all die-and no, he’s not getting paid a cent for that. Carbon credits are a step solution for companies which cannot yet eliminate their emissions, and as a part of a well-devised strategy AND with an end date they do have a point. But that point only makes sense if all companies take it, then the balance of all would be-you guessed it, 0.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks for sharing!

And yes, we need to find a way to support this approach to land management *and* eliminate and/or sequester all of our emissions.

Expand full comment
Jul 10, 2022·edited Jul 10, 2022

You're first mistake is thinking we need to sequester carbon at all. Carbon is the building block of life. We ARE carbon. Plants and crops thrive on CO2. Why do you think there are CO2 generators for growing plants? You've bought into the globalists plan to control all of humanity through carbon credits and carbon footprints, managed by a "social" credit score that will determine what and how much of something you can buy or use You are being used as a tool by globalists that aim to vastly reduce our travel, food supply, and acceptable actions on the Earth, while they travel in private jets to their seaside mansions and eat filet mignon. We'll "own nothing and be happy" 🙄

Expand full comment
author

I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to refrain from commenting here unless you can offer fact-based arguments. At this point, it is extremely well documented that (1) human activities have dumped unnatural levels of CO₂ and other gases into the atmosphere, and (2) this is cooking the planet. If you would like to address that directly, then possibly we can have a productive conversation. Otherwise, I'll ask you to take your commentary elsewhere.

(To be clear, the fact that "Carbon is the building block of life" is beside the point. Water is also fundamental to life, but you can still drown in it.)

Expand full comment

Basically, if I don't agree with your underlying assumptions, I can't comment. Got it. Typical authoritarian thought process.

Expand full comment

Just a nitpick, There is a difference between underlying assumption and underlying reason based on evidence. I can assume 1=2 and say everything in math is wrong, and blame someone for not hearing my argument, if they are the same. Not all assumptions are equally sane.

Expand full comment

I appreciate the careful thinking here and I’m afraid that you’re probably right.

Expand full comment