Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are (contributing to) causing the Earth’s climate to change and warm (there have been periods of warm periods between Ice ages), which will (could) have catastrophic (negative) results if we do not act to reduce them. Carbon dioxide emissions are about 40% higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution (Of course because that is when many factories were beginning to be built) and at their highest levels in recorded history, covering over 650,000 (Written history more like 6000) years. (BTW; would love to see those 650,000 year old written records; do you think they were in English or French?)
The effects of climate change can be seen now. Temperatures ( have gone up and down over the centuries) are already increasing, glaciers are receding at unprecedented (yet others are advancing) speeds, whole chunks of the Antarctic ice shelf are breaking off (this has gone on for centuries), warmer seasons are becoming longer (there have been longer warm periods), and storms are becoming more severe (Not necessarily true, as one Big Hurricane sank the entire Spanish Treasure Fleet in the 1500's between Cuba & the Florida Keys) and causing more and more damage (most of which is due to fools building on the Beach's). (BTW: You also find more damage due to fools living up the sides of active volcano's! But that must be due to ground hog borrows?)
Offsetting your carbon footprint allows you to become part of the solution (maybe) to climate change by supporting the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions equal to your carbon emissions. (Really, our yard contains close to a hundred trees, plus many smaller plants, not counting grass and flowers)
Carbon offsets (are a cop-out, not addressing the real problems) can be more cost effective and practical than many other measures an individual can take. However, it is important to take action to also reduce your energy use. For instance, it is more cost effective and better for our environment to build a 100 MW wind energy farm in Minnesota than a 5 kW windmill in your own backyard. (True)
Carbon dioxide emissions are a global problem, so reducing a ton of CO2 in Brazil or North Dakota (North Dakota should be replaced with maybe China) has the same climate change benefit as doing so in your backyard. Also, no technology is inherently better than another: wind is not better than solar, renewables are not better than energy efficiency. Each ton of CO2 reduced is the same as any other ton. (true)
Fighting climate change is (almost impossible) about reducing carbon dioxide emissions globally. You CAN make a difference. (Maybe, it depends on exactly what you do.)
BTW: There is also two major divisions in the global weather systems Northern or Southern Hemisphere which operate independent of each other; So how are the factories in Europe, USA, China, Japan melting the ice in the Antarctic?? Maybe it is by way of environmental osmosis... HUH!!
