Carbon copy: Questionable carbon claims
An exclusive excerpt from Consumer Reports’ ShopSmart
Feeling a bit of green guilt about not always recycling or for using plastic bags at the grocery store? Well, lots of products and services, from hiking boots to travel sites, might seem to offer a good way to relieve some of that eco-guilt. Labels like “carbon neutral,” “carbon negative,” “zerocarbon” might even make the companies behind the products seem virtuous because they claim to erase their contribution of carbon dioxide (and possibly other greenhouse gasses) to the global-warming problem.
CARBON-NEGATIVE WATER
Take Fiji bottled water. It claims to be “carbon negative.” But what it really means is that although the company generates plenty of carbon bottling water and shipping it from some remote aquifer in the South Pacific, it offsets its carbon load by investing in renewable energy and reforestation. A Fiji representative also told us that the company is taking steps to reduce its packaging and cut emissions from shipping the product. Good for Fiji for trying, but if you’re really concerned about global warming, forget about bottled water and drink from the tap. (Buy a good water filter if you need to.)
CARBON-NEUTRAL TRAVEL
On the other hand, programs that offset carbon generated by traveling may be worth considering. Some are third-party verified. And if you really need to get to Los Angeles, there’s no eco-friendly way to do it, unless you don’t mind walking or riding a bike for a month or two.
The travel site Orbitz has a carbon-offset service, run in partnership with TheCarbonFund.org, a nonprofit that offers verified services. Our only beef with these kinds of carbon-offset programs: When we compared 11 carbon calculators from various Web sites for a flight from New York to Los Angeles, we got emissions results that ranged from 1,924 to 6,732 pounds of carbon dioxide.
READ THE FINEPRINT
Whatever carbon-offset program you consider, be sure to read the fine print. There are no federal guidelines for specific carbon offsets. So you’re on your own until the government figures out how to deal with carbon claims.
4 POWERFUL THINGS YOU CAN DO
The average American generates about 22,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Cutting that down can have a much bigger impact than just supporting companies that offset their energy use. If you really want to help reduce your contribution to global warming, here are four of the most powerful things you can do.
Seal and insulate your house. Depending on your situation, covering your home’s ducts can lower your oil bill by $718, your natural gas bill by up to $362, or your electric bill by up to $811. You could save some 10,000 pounds of CO2 each year and cut your heating and cooling costs by up to 40 percent.
Driving a fuel-efficient car can save up to 8,000 pounds of CO2 each year, and save you money on gas. For a list of fuel-efficient options, check out our Green car buying guide.
Replace an old hot-water heater and you can reduce your CO2 emissions by more that 3,000 pounds annually, and save up to $263 on electricity costs.
Purchase clean power. Ask your utility company if you can purchase some or all of your energy from clean sources. It can save up to 10,656 pounds of CO2 each year. For more information, read How to buy green electricity.
RELATED LINKS:
Carbon credits: Clean up after your car
Global Warming Solutions Center
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