[Sustain] The Carbon Emissions Trading Illusion

[Eric Brooks]

Hi all,

I recently listened to KPFA's radio program Terra Verde, a really badly 
put together 'environmental' program which repeatedly, since is 
inception, has been duped into promoting a corporate manipulated 
perspective on environmental issues.

Last Friday's edition was about 'carbon offsets' (or 'carbon emissions 
trading') and I would highly recommend all of you take a half hour to 
listen to it so that you can get a sense of the ridiculous sham of 
'carbon trading'.

If you listen carefully, you will notice that the U.S. carbon trading 
system is corporate led and -voluntary- meaning that there would be no 
reason whatsoever for any corporation which knows it will exceed its CO2 
limits to take part in the project. Furthermore you will note the the 
U.S. system is -unregulated- and that the corporations and organizations 
involved in the scheme simply arbitrarily set the standards for what 
constitutes carbon savings themselves! Also, you will hear one of the 
guests admit that his organization has a business relationship with one 
of the private carbon trading corporations that it has just listed as 
one of the top 8 of the corporations reliably trading carbon emissions.

Finally, you will hear neither of the show's guests ever stating where 
the money comes from to create the carbon credits in the first place... 
the most important piece of information that they could have talked about.

Totally dumbfounded by what I was hearing, I decided to do some digging 
on the organization that the central guest Bill Burtis was representing, 
called Clean Air - Cool Planet, see http://www.cleanair-coolplanet.org/

Once I got to its web site all became clear. I discovered that the 
organization promotes corporate friendly 'climate solutions' and its 
Board of Directors includes:

- 2 current employees of NRDC (the most vile and corporate of all 
'environmental' groups which recently came out supporting liquid natural 
gas)

- 2 former high-ups at World Wildlife Fund

- 1 from Environmental Defense Fund

- 1 vice-president of a public relations firm

- 1 president of a plastics manufacturing company

- 2 consultants on government energy regulations for the fossil fuel and 
energy industries

- the 'National Energy Manager' for Whole Foods Market

- 1 former executive with Chase Manhattan Bank (in charge of 
'derivatives trading' - which is more properly described as financial 
gambling schemes)

- The co-founder of Americans for Equitable Climate Solutions, a 
corporate apologist climate change group also known as The Sky Trust 
Institute, which has its mail delivered care of Common Assets Defense 
Fund (founded by former Sierra Club president Adam Werbach, who is 
currently working with Wal-Mart to help them greenwash their corporate 
image). The other founder of Sky Trust is Peter Barnes who also 
co-founded the infamous corporate greenwashing coalition, Businesses for 
Social Responsibility.

and finally

- the former president of John D. Rockefeller III's Agricultural 
Development Council

cheers,

Eric Brooks