The Carbon Offsetting Company – CO2Co™

It is becoming popular for public figures to buy “carbon offsets.”  These are compensations for having burned carbon in private jets, SUV’s and other internal combustion extravagances.       

The usual offset is tree planting, but few are documented and many such operations are supected to be fraudulent.  We expect legislation on that point soon as none of these organizations will be able to show dedicated tree plantings adequate to offset carbon in the manner advertised.  

The prototype tree planted is a pine because they are fast growing, but from seedling to a significant tree is ten years.  They live about 60 years and are then harvested for wood, pulp for paper or peeled for plywood.

In its' prime a pine tree is from one to two feet in diameter and grows about a foot a year.  It is a long cone shape and has about an equal volume of limb and twig wood.  The total volume of grown wood is about six cubic feet or 186 pounds of it which includes a little over 80 lbs of captured carbon.

The average US automobile burns about 1,000 gallons of gasoline per year putting about 5000 pounds of carbon in the air.  If a tree sequesters 80 pounds it takes 63 trees to account for one automobile.  And, the typical family has two plus uses encough energy to account for another one or two.  Thus, the idea of "planting a tree to account for your "carbon footprint"," is ridiculous.  For a typical family we would need to plant 250 trees and there is not enough land for growing trees to take care of the 60 million vehicles and 75 millions homes.  With planting and tending costs of only $20 per tree we would need $5,000 per family to account for their carbon footprint dealing with it in this manner.

Where so many buyers of such offsets are public figures this could become a source of many scandals, but most of the carbon offset buyers are left-wing liberals so the press will quash the stories.  There is a limit to how many trees can be planted securely or in a way that guarantees maturity.  Anything short of this will constitute fraud.

Precipitated carbon black is perfect for offsetting as it can be buried for soil amending and guaranteed to remain in perpetuity.  It does not oxidize.  This should ameliorate the guilt of any private jet owning green or limousine liberal as well as comprise an easily documented business.  

The Carbon Offsetting Company can sell certified carbon offset documents stating that it has put a certain amount of elemental carbon into bad soil of a certain location for a named client in return for X dollars.  The certificate should be suitable for framing and may be put on the wall of the properly shamed carbon “bigfoot” in order that he may feel welcome at Sierra Club meetings.  Publication of client names should drive customers to the rolls of Carbon Offsetting, Inc.

A gallon of gasoline contains almost exactly five pounds of carbon.  It the average car owner drives 15,000 miles/year getting 15 miles/gallon in his SUV then he is using 1,000 gallons and putting 5,000 pounds of carbon in the air.  We can offset his carbon footprint by burying 5,000 pounds of carbon recovered from a chimney for a charge of $1 per pound burying and mixing it in Nevada alkali soil, give him a very nice certificate with a gold seal on it for his office wall, the landowner a big bill for recovering his land and everybody is happy.