As I happily clicked through the channels (I tend to be a bit of a channel surfer!) with my newly juiced remote I thought about the significance of the product certification. The reality that these batteries truly are carbon neutral is pretty impressive. Their carbon footprint was neutralized after a detailed product life-cycle assessment that included calculations of the emissions resulting in each phase of the life of the product (including raw material extraction, manufacturing, distribution and retail, use, disposal and recycling), and reducing the emissions. The life-cycle assessment is done by a third-party consultant, in accordance with Carbonfund.org’s product certification protocol.

Further, by purchasing a CarbonFree® Certified product you are supporting some pretty awesome, third-party validated carbon reduction projects. In Venom’s case they chose to support our Return to Forest reforestation project. Validated by the Rainforest Alliance to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards with Gold Distinction, the Return to Forest Project is helping to reforest as well as reconnect critical biological corridors along Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. The project also brings economic opportunities to local communities while sequestering about 170,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Venom’s Eco Alkaline batteries are progressive, high quality consumer batteries. Plus, they’re carbon neutral! To learn more about the batteries or about Venom Power, visit: www.venom-group.com.

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13 days til Valentine’s Day!

Impress your sweetie this Valentine’s Day with a thoughtful, green gift from CarbonFree® Partner Soul Flower.  Soul Flower is a retail mail order and online store that focuses on clothing and eco-friendly goods for the entire family. A “lifestyle” store with an emphasis on products that are made from organic cotton or hemp, the clothing and goods that come from Soul Flower are primarily from Fair Trade^TM companies, made in cooperatives, or are from small independent businesses in the USA.  They have been a CarbonFree® Partner since 2006 and have worked with us during that time to offset the emissions related to their business operations by supporting our renewable energy projects.

Soul Flower offers everything from funky clothing for women and men to cool duds for little buds. My recommendation?  Go for one of their organic printed tees or hip hats.  For more great gift ideas, or to check out their goods for yourself, visit: www.soul-flower.com.

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Ecosystem Marketplace released a new report today entitled, State of the Forest Carbon Markets 2009: Taking Root & Branching Out, that details the history of the forest carbon markets and the great progress that was made in 2009. The report outlines trends in the market, and notes recent upswings in activity.

Carbonfund.org has a long history of supporting forest-based carbon offset projects. Currently, Carbonfund.org supports projects in Louisiana, Nicaragua, Brazil, and China that are reducing carbon and improving local environments.

Deforestation and forest degradation account for around 20% of global warming causing greenhouse gas emissions — more than the global transportation sector. Forest-based carbon reduction projects actually sequester emissions (or take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere) and have been an effective way to help balance out these emissions. The projects Carbonfund.org supports also help protect or restore habitats, preserve biodiversity and have other benefits for the environment and local communities.

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Project Name:: Chino Basin Dairy Farm Biodigester

Location: Chino Basin, California

Project type: Waste-to-Energy Biodigester

Standard: American Carbon Registry / Environmental Resources Trust’s Monitoring, Reporting & Verification Protocol

Verification/Validation: Environmental Resources Trust

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Calculate and offset your footprint now>>

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Choose to reduce from 1 ton to 50 tons, or take care of someone’s annual carbon footprint and the planet with a ZeroCarbon™ Individual or ZeroCarbon™ Family gift. The average carbon footprint of an American is a whopping 24 tons of emissions a year. There are also options to offset the carbon footprint of someone’s car or home. Your recipient gets a framable e-certificate in recognition of this support, and this year Carbonfund.org offers a Tree Bonus and Chico Bag Bonus.

For every $20 you donate to support carbon reductions from the Carbonfund.org holiday page, Carbonfund.org will plant a tree in your honor. Also, for every $50, you receive a Carbonfund.org Chico Bag, which are lightweight and reusable for shopping or use as a tote for books and other items.

This year, give something that’s meaningful and at a price you can afford. Give the gift of a cleaner planet. Earn your tree and Carbonfund.org Chico Bag bonuses today.

Visit the Carbonfund.org holiday page.

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But what are customers taking away from Responsible Travel? What about individuals who have to travel for their livelihoods or work in travel and the like; will they realistically travel less?

While it is a fact that flying to where we need to go is carbon intensive, many flights are not impulse buys. In order to travel plans need to be made: where will I stay? Who is going to take care of my pets? How will this trip fit into my budget? In short, most people aren’t jetting around the world for no reason – they alter their lives (and submit themselves to airport security or weather delays) out of necessity for business, family and much needed vacations. So why not give people the opportunity to take responsibility for their carbon emissions?

Responsible Travel’s position on offsets is misguided because 1) they over-estimate people’s ability to modify their travel arrangements and 2) appear to take the position that it’s better not to do anything than to do something. The fact is that carbon offset projects can be validated to do what they’re supposed to, which is reduce carbon emissions and therefore serve as an offset to one’s own emissions.

By supporting real, high quality certified and verified carbon offset projects we can take responsibility for our carbon footprint, which is real and needs to be addressed if we are to solve global warming.

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Rather than your usual Ford Crown Victoria, their entire fleet is made up of Toyota Priuses getting an estimated 50 miles per gallon.  They also prove that going green doesn’t have to be expensive.  They have prices that are cheaper than the top three cab companies in Phoenix.

“We believe that going green isn’t something you do – it is something you are,” said Steve Lopez, Founder of Clean Air Cab.

In addition to taking care of the environment, Clean Air Cab has programs that protect their local community.  Arizona State University students can call Clean Air Cab’s Free Ride Back program to get a cab to take them home if they have been drinking and can’t drive themselves. In the morning, they call back and a cab will pick them up and take them back to their car for free.

People in the Phoenix, AZ metro area can book a Clean Air Cab taxi online at www.CleanAirCab.com or by calling 480-777-9777.

Check out Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree® logo on the back of each Clean Air Cab!

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• Zero mercury
• Zero cadmium
• Zero lead
• Zero carbon footprint, courtesy of Carbonfund.org’s product certification program, featuring the first carbon neutral label in the US.

The Venom Power Eco Alkaline batteries have been certified carbon neutral after a detailed product life-cycle assessment. The assessment tracks carbon emissions, identified areas for emissions reductions, and offset the emissions that could not be avoided – like emissions generated in the manufacturing process.

Venom chose to support our Paso Pacifico Return to Forest reforestation project. Validated by the Rainforest Alliance to the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards with Gold Distinction, the Return to Forest Project is helping to reforest as well as reconnect critical biological corridors along Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. The project also brings economic opportunities to local communities while sequestering about 170,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Venom’s Eco Alkaline batteries are progressive, high quality consumer batteries with dependable performance. The batteries will begin shipping to retailers throughout North America during the fourth quarter this year. To learn more, please visit: www.venom-group.com.

Read more about our product certification program here.

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The ministers will wear scuba gear for the gathering off the island of Girifushi — about 20 minutes journey by speed boat from the capital, Male, she said. The ministers will communicate using hand gestures and are now receiving diving lessons… At the meeting, the Cabinet plans to sign a document calling on all countries to cut down their carbon emissions ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December…

The Maldives emitted about 869,000 metric tons of CO2 in 2006 – representing less than 0.1% of total global emissions. But as the lowest lying country in the world at an average height of 7 ft. above sea level, the affects of sea level rise will no doubt impact the small island nation.

Though the impacts on the Maldives are clear and dramatic, a story of similar tragedy can be told for many small or poor nations. A warmer world will raise sea levels, increase heat waves, change growing regions, reduce access to clean water, and increase food scarcity. The worlds poor who have contributed the least to the cause of the problem are going to be the most severely impacted by these changes.

Fight global warming now by supporting communities across the world. Click here to learn how to help today.

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Carbonfund.org is honored to be a top recognized carbon offset provider in the survey.

Some key insights from the study is that interest in green issues is still high despite the recession, with 76% of companies surveyed having implemented or are developing a carbon plan and 60% of companies have measured their carbon footprint. But North American companies are lagging behind, with only 54% of companies surveyed having completed a carbon footprint assessment.

Other highlights from the survey include:

• Over three quarters of companies have implemented or have started developing a carbon management strategy
• Two thirds of respondents have already offset their carbon emissions or will consider offsetting in the future
• Environmental benefits (91%) were highlighted as one of the main motivations for interest in carbon offsets, closely followed by carbon neutrality and marketing (89%)
• 72% of participants nominated the US as the most desirable geographic region for purchasing offsets; this may reflect the desire for domestic projects as 56% of the respondents came from North America. Africa and South America were also rated as highly desirable locations for emission reduction projects
• Respondents prefer renewable energy projects above any other project type with solar scoring 92% and wind 86%

By and large, the majority of respondents have a favorable view of carbon offsets and choose to support offsets for positive reasons.  But even with so many companies offsetting and the maturity of the market, many companies are still unclear on the carbon standards out there (though there is a strong preference for projects that meet third party standards).

Please contact Carbonfund.org with any questions about carbon offsets. Learn how to measure, reduce and offset your carbon footprint with the highest quality third-party validated carbon offsets. Curious about your carbon footprint? Check out our carbon calculators.

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