OFKU0

Last evening I went to a social bbq type of thing and was introduced to a lovely brunette by some friends. She is an environmental scientist in the government. So I asked her what that entails and one thing lead to the next and soon we were talking about Kyoto.

Now I am no scientist and I like to think I am pretty informed but what she was telling me was unbelievable. I thought I had some general knowledge concerning Kyoto (limited at that) but didn't think I was that out of the loop.

I didn't know that countries or provinces could borrow, trade or buy 'clean credits' if their emissions level were to high to then be in accordance with the levels permitted. In other words if Ontario has a failing emission grade (high emissions), it could buy 'clean credits' from Quebec to put it back in sinc.

I asked this person if such were to happen how does such 'clean credits' make the emissions problem any better. The answer given was that it doesn't do anything to solve the emission problem since 'clean credits' are a charade to make it look as if Kyoto is working and is simply a money grab for those wanting to sell the credits. In other words, emissions will continue at their current levels or worsen while credits can be bought.

Mind you this is an opinion that was given to me by someone who is shopping around for another job since she feels she can't ethically do her job as someone who has dedicated her life to bettering the environment when she feels Kyoto is a sham.

Any thought? Does anyone have a good working knowledge of Kyoto who can explain better than my paraphrasing in support of the arguement or not? Is the everyday person who is environmentally conscious getting the run around concerning Kyoto?

The link below briefly outlines 'clean credits'.

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features.../kyoto/06.html

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the_marq

I still find it mind boggling that Kyoto got as far as it did with the craziness of 'clean credits.'

Y'know it not as if those of us in Alberta are opposed to clean air and water, contrary to what the Eco-warriors might like you to believe. It's just that if we are going to clean things up it has to be done fairly and responsibly. Since Kyoto demands too much change too fast it is inevitable that someone is going to cheat simply because the bottom line for a lot of organizations is money. Therefore by providing reasonable goals over a reasonable period of time the clean-up attempts become more likely to succeed.

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#3 in a series

losthellhound

From what I have been able to learn about Kyoto I agree with the above.. It went really far, really fast. We have to be there, the goals are good.. but the would isnt ready for that much change and the cuntries involved cant do it..

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Bill O'Rights

Paging Dr. Freud. Paging Dr. Sigmund Freud.

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Averett

Bwahahahahaahaaa....

Now that's comedy! Oh man, I think I just hurt myself laughing

Still love him though

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losthellhound

damn.. I should proof read first

though...

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"Life is possible only with illusions. And so, the question for the science of mental health must become an absolutely new and revolutionary one, yet one that reflects the essence of the human condition: On what level of illusion does one live?"
-- Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

Redlemon

I'm not familiar with the 'clean credits' in the Kyoto protocol, but I am familiar with the 'emission credit trading' used in the US for acid rain and ozone, and I would assume that the method is similar.

First, a new emission standard is set, which is lower than the presently allowable emission level. If you can meet that level exactly, good for you. If you can beat that level, and are willing to take a permit restriction that permanently restricts you to that lower level, you can raise some $ by selling the credits. If you can't (include: is not cost effective) for you to meet the level, then you can buy credits to make up the difference.

The kicker is: there's a "tax" on the credits. The level of the tax differs depending on how bad the local pollution levels are, but it might be 1.1:1, or even 1.4:1 ratios.

Therefore, not only does the average emission levels between the two companies meet the limits, but an additional amount of emissions has been removed from the system.

Really, it works.

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Charlatan

I was just reading the other day that it is working in the US. The idea is that over time you keep lowering the quota amount until everyone is weaned off the pollutants.

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