buzzwords

this week/year i shall be mostly ranting about: carbon credits
my word
is the whole world talking about it or is it just here in aotearoa?
carbon neutral.
they've just produced the first carbon neutral magazine.
what the heck is that all about? eh?
we were debating this at lunch, p and i, about being carbon neutral and how does carbon neutrality become an asset. i think the idea is that certain things, certain actions create carbon,(bad) and other certain actions eat it or neutralise it, (good).
we discussed whether or not the rara republic is carbon neutral.
for example: we've both caught quite a few airplanes, being (former) fans of travelling to far flung hemispheres= bad. but we get mega bonuses for growing our own organic veges = good. and surely i get bonus points as well for planting trees in my former life as a landscaper...
how do you own negative carbon??? who gets the points for the tree planting/growing: the planter, the tree grower, the tree owner (surely it's only temporary ownership) the tree worshipper?
so this is how i think it works:
person buys big a big fat 4x4 and suddenly feels guilty about the amount of fuel they're burning and carbon they're creating. googles 'carbon + offset'. gets sidetracked searching for a villa in the south of france. eventually gets back to the subject at hand and buys carbon points with goldcard.
conscience cleared.
and accumulated some handy fly-buys points as well!
some marketing dude is smiling now.
no, seriously. surely it's about living consciously? surely it's about buying stuff locally, in season; stuff that's produced using the best methods possible. eco isn't merely short for economical.
p said 'tell them i think it's all bullsh1t'.
this is his equation: being vegetarian is carbon friendly up until you start f@rting. and he's studied environmental engineering! (which he also reckons is merde)
tis hard to be a proper hippy when everyone is jumping on the (bio-fuel) bandwagon.
xxx
mama b