22 Jun 2007 Carbon Offsets: Why Pay More?

Get your discount carbon offsets here.

(Yes, it’s satire… I think!)

Speaking of carbon offsets, am I the only one irritated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to “green the Capitol,” in part by using taxpayer money to purchase carbon offsets?

As Monisha Bansal of CNSNews.com reports:

To reduce the amount of greenhouse gas produced, the Capitol will purchase electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar power, switch from using coal, oil and natural gas at the Capitol Power Plant to solely using natural gas, and purchase carbon “offsets” for the remaining emissions.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer — who once was my Congressman — says the House of Representatives alone emits as much carbon dioxide as 17,200 cars in a year.

The amount of taxpayer funds that will necessary to offset all the hot air coming from Congress could be enough to rescue Medicare.

In all seriousness, carbon offsets are a joke. Members of Congress who push energy restrictions on the rest of us while living high on the energy hog shouldn’t be able to buy themselves out of their hypocrisy using our money.