Climate Change

The Voluntary Carbon Market: Caveat Emptor No More?

Carbon credits have been much ballyhooed in the media of late.  Everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio and Bank of America seems to have them.  But even as the market for carbon credits grows, so does the skepticism about their authenticity and quality.  In large part, the skepticism reflects the absence of a regulatory system governing the creation and sale of carbon credits in the United States.  Some of the credits represent real verified reductions of carbon emissions under established protocols.  Others, however, are not supported by rigorous quantification and verification methodologies. 

Peace With Nature in Costa Rica

On February 21st, I wrote in my entry, "The Ticos, Their Trees, and Climate Change" about Costa Rica and the avoided deforestation activities taking place there. On September 19th, I visited Costa Rica for what was an exciting culmination of work with the Salt Lake City nonprofit Pax Natura ("Peace With Nature") to sell carbon credits derived from avoided deforestation activities in Costa Rica.

The Ticos, Their Trees, And Climate Change

In 1949, Costa Rica abolished its armed forces, thereby becoming an exception to the typical mid-century Latin American nation. A small country, its economy depended largely on coffee and bananas. Due to its isolation and the scarcity of native American slave labor during the Spanish colonization, Costa Rica avoided the oligarchical latifundia system pervasive throughout much of the rest of Latin America. Rather, the private lands of the country were largely held in relatively small parcels by educated and hard-working Ticos (as the Costa Ricans call themselves).