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The 2008 Presidential Election: What It Means for Global Warming

The election is over and the results are in: Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.

What does that mean for global warming and the carbon market?

President-elect Obama’s platform included a much-needed plan of action to combat global warming (see our article from the last issue), including setting a goal of reducing U.S. carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and by 80 percent by 2050 through the use of a cap-and-trade system, and funding a 10-year research renewable energy research program to the tune of $150 billion.

Report from Green Festival 2008

Carbonfund.org was on hand for Washington, DC’s Green Festival 2008. Green Festival, a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America, is the nation’s premier sustainability event.

All day Saturday and Sunday, Carbonfund.org personnel staffed a table on the event’s main floor, greeting visitors, handing out literature and brochures, and answering questions on everything from global warming causes to carbon offset projects to certification and verification standards.

Through GreenFest, Carbonfund.org reached out to hundreds of individuals. The event was so popular that the supply of literature was exhausted by the end of Sunday!

Carbonfund.org thanks everyone who turned out for the event and welcomes all the new subscribers to our newsletter, MyClimateMinute. Be sure to visit our website for the latest information on how to reduce what you can, offset what you can’t.

Show Your Thanks for the Earth with a CarbonFree® Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is all about seeing food, family, and friends, and being grateful for the good things in your life. With that in mind, here are a few tips on how to show your thanks for planet Earth this November by greening your Thanksgiving.

1. Turkey Free? Turkey (and meat in general) has a very large carbon footprint. Shed tons of carbon in no time by cutting out turkey from your big meal. Many great meals don’t use meat—look for delicious squash recipes and nut bakes, not to mention Tofurky! If you just can’t go without, find an organic/free-range/local turkey.

Love Football, Fight Global Warming

Autumn is here in all its glory. For many, this means the triumphant return of football season. Our Sundays are filled with men in helmets, bar-b-q, chips and beer. Afternoons that were once spent tending the garden or fixing that busted shelf are now devoted to the three-hour holy event known as a home game (Editor’s Note: Go Skins!).

But just because it’s football season, we can’t forget about the environment. On the contrary, football and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand and help you have a better time this Sunday. Here are five quick and easy tips to help you save the climate on game day.

EDUCAUSE 2008–Green Conferencing Done Right

It’s not easy to make a large conference truly environmentally friendly. Venue, decorations, food and water, travel—all these factors have to be accounted for. The organizers of one conference found a way to do it right, thanks to a combination of forward-thinking planning and offsets from Carbonfund.org.

While many of us were donning ghostly and ghastly costumes this Halloween, attendees of the EDUCAUSE 2008 conference were being treated to an eco-friendly event. Urged by conference attendees from previous years, EDUCAUSE listened and launched a green initiative to reduce the footprint of the participants’ travel, hotel stays and the venue itself. Those who spoke up should feel especially proud that they’ve helped fight something truly scary: global warming.

So how did they do it?

How Much of A Difference Do CFLs and LEDs Really Make?

CarbonFree Partner E3 Living wants to help you figure it out. Their CFL and LED Savings Calculator is an easy way to determine how much you can save on your energy bill by making the switch to energy efficient light bulbs.

E3 Living’s whole purpose is to provide you with the education, product and resources to follow through with your good intentions when it comes to the environment. By making some different decisions and replacing some things in your home, you will drastically cut the energy required to sustain your lifestyle.

Carbonfund.org Is Offsetting Over 3 Billion Pounds of Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Carbonfund.org is proud to announce it is offsetting over 3 billion pounds of carbon dioxide—more than many countries emit in an entire year. These offsets were made possible by donations from hundreds of thousands of individuals, and hundreds of businesses, including household names like Dell, Orbitz, JetBlue, Amtrak, and Volkswagen.

“Three billion pounds is a staggering number, equivalent to offsetting the CO2 emission of 154 million gallons of gas, or the electricity use of 180,000 homes for a year,” said Eric Carlson, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Carbonfund.org. “We started Carbonfund.org five years ago to help make it easy and affordable for everyone to mitigate their carbon impact, and the results we are seeing today support that goal.”

Contest: Design a CarbonFree T-Shirt for Carbonfund.org!

Want to get the word out about global warming and carbon offsets? Help Carbonfund.org do it with style.

We’re looking to design an official Carbonfund.org T-shirt, and we want our supporters to take first crack at it—after all, we wouldn’t be here without you!
Enter our t-shirt design contest for the chance to have your design chosen and produced en masse. In addition to a free 10-ton offset, the winner will receive complimentary t-shirts and coverage in our newsletter and blog, which makes this a great opportunity for a budding eco-fashion designer looking raise their visibility.

So get creative and send your ideas to ! Deadline: November 21st.

Election Night: Five Steps to Celebrate or Commiserate CarbonFree®

Election night is rapidly approaching. Some will rejoice and others will regret, but few will let the night pass without notice. Many of us have traditions of watching the results come in with friends, family and co-workers, eagerly snacking and drinking the night away as we wait for the latest exit polls and results.

This year, with the environment a priority issue for so many voters, why not take a couple easy steps to make your election night a little easier on the environment. Here are five easy steps to help you party CarbonFree®.

Election: The Candidates on Climate Change

The 2008 Presidential election is almost upon us. Where do the candidates stand on the issue of carbon markets, climate change?

The following was taken directly from the candidates’ websites. Carbonfund.org is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse either candidate.

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