# Carbonfund.org Redemptions



## WhoozOn1st (May 27, 2010)

Just got this AGR e-mail:

Thank you for helping to keep emissions low by riding Amtrak®. Trains release less CO2 per mile traveled than cars or planes.

Now's the time to go the extra mile. And we're going to help.

For every two points redeemed in support of our partner, Carbonfund.org, Amtrak Guest Rewards® will match one point — that's an amazing 50% match! Yes, a 50% commitment on every member contribution — up to a maximum of 5,000,000 points.

What does that number mean in real-world terms?

Offsetting up to 6 million pounds of CO2

Reducing the emissions of over 300 homes' electricity use

Taking over 500 passenger vehicles off the road today

Fighting global warming in the U.S. and around the globe

__________________

Then there's a redemption table and a link. I try to be as pro-environment as the next guy - assuming the next guy is not either the Chief of BP or president of the Sierra Club - but I'm not real sure I wanna contribute my points to something other than the greener option of me riding the rails. Guess I can live with other, more generous folks being better people than me.


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## Bob Dylan (May 27, 2010)

Me too Patrick! Let BP give them a few million while theyre busy trying to deny liability for the latest disaster they caused! "Drill Baby,Drill!" indeed! :angry:


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## rrdude (May 27, 2010)

jimhudson said:


> Me too Patrick! Let BP give them a few million while theyre busy trying to deny liability for the latest disaster they caused! "Drill Baby,Drill!" indeed! :angry:



So they can "Spill baby, spill!"

Anyone have a clue how many oil wells are in the Gulf? It is one damn scary number, I'll tell you that.


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## WhoozOn1st (May 27, 2010)

Nothing like the Gulf of Texaco, but we've got a few platforms off the SoCal coast, too. On clear days a string of 'em is visible for hours from either the Coast Starlight or the Pacific Surfliners that make the San Luis Obispo run.

Surely others got this Carbonfund e-mail. Is anybody gonna squander - I mean contribute - AGR points for Amtrak to match?


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## Trogdor (May 27, 2010)

I'm a little lost. Exactly how does donating AGR points to a carbon fund help the environment?


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## WhoozOn1st (May 28, 2010)

Trogdor said:


> I'm a little lost. Exactly how does donating AGR points to a carbon fund help the environment?


Can't say as I really understand it myself. Here's an explanation at Carbonfund.org's website:

How Carbon Offsets Work

"A carbon offset represents a reduction in emissions somewhere else - like a renewable energy or a reforestation project - to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce. Also, carbon offsets are the only way to get your carbon footprint to zero today."

While I don't claim to fully comprehend, it does strike me as something of a shell game. Seems to me the only real way to reduce one's carbon footprint is to actually reduce serious carbon-producing pursuits such as daily driving. Buying carbon offsets - in this case with AGR points - without altering behavior is little more than a feelgood exercise in dodging pangs of polluter guilt, in my view.


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## Cristobal (May 28, 2010)

I think that the whole carbon credit thing is a crock as well. Somebody (Al Gore?!?!) is no doubt making money on this "feel good" scheme.


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## the_traveler (May 28, 2010)

I agree!

Just like the "Global Warming" theories!  Global warming did not start yesterday. It's been going on for 10,000 years! And how come the *SAME* scientists who now confirm Global Warming 30 years ago confirmed (without a doubt  ) "Global Cooling"?

I'm accepting money or AGR points for carbon offset. That way, you don't have to spew excess carbon into the air. Send checks or points in care of the_traveler. I *GUARANTEE* that it will be use for carbon offset purposes! :lol:


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## Steve4031 (May 29, 2010)

I think using them on a trip where I would normally drive is a better way to reduce pollution. I'm not giving my miles up without a train ride involved someplace. I won't even given to my girl friend to take the train. Ill use them myself.


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## GG-1 (May 29, 2010)

Steve4031 said:


> I think using them on a trip where I would normally drive is a better way to reduce pollution. I'm not giving my miles up without a train ride involved someplace. I won't even given to my girl friend to take the train. Ill use them myself.


Aloha

Guess you will just have to get your girl friend to go with you more often so she has here own points.


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## Steve4031 (Jun 1, 2010)

GG-1 said:


> Steve4031 said:
> 
> 
> > I think using them on a trip where I would normally drive is a better way to reduce pollution. I'm not giving my miles up without a train ride involved someplace. I won't even given to my girl friend to take the train. Ill use them myself.
> ...



Exactly!!! She doesn't;tike trains that much anyway. If she really appreciated the effort, I might consider it.


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## Mary (Jun 13, 2010)

I've been riding Amtrak and would make a donation to Carbonfund.org. Although it's tough these days with kids and the economy being bad; I'd rather redeem for train travel. It's just economics 101. But the economy is starting to pick up.. so I'll consider it. Again, it's tough.

You should know that,

"A carbon offset represents a reduction in emissions somewhere else - like a renewable energy or a reforestation project - to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce." Carbonfund.org promotes "Reduce what you can, offset what you can't," and that's legit. If anything it's saying the priority is to reduce, and offset what you can't, like traveling. I really like what they've done in recent years too to emphasize the reduce what you can part.


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## Ozark Southern (Jun 15, 2010)

Mary said:


> I've been riding Amtrak and would make a donation to Carbonfund.org. Although it's tough these days with kids and the economy being bad; I'd rather redeem for train travel. It's just economics 101. But the economy is starting to pick up.. so I'll consider it. Again, it's tough.
> You should know that,
> 
> "A carbon offset represents a reduction in emissions somewhere else - like a renewable energy or a reforestation project - to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce." Carbonfund.org promotes "Reduce what you can, offset what you can't," and that's legit. If anything it's saying the priority is to reduce, and offset what you can't, like traveling. I really like what they've done in recent years too to emphasize the reduce what you can part.


But what exactly does paying Carbonfund.org _do_? What work are they doing that actually makes a real difference, and how does it actually compensate for emissions I create through activities like driving my car? This question has never been satisfactorily answered, and the lack of a good answer is the primary reason I consider carbon offsets to be a joke, or a get-rich-quick scheme.


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## PRR 60 (Jun 16, 2010)

Carbonfund is a 501( c)(3) charity that takes in revenue and then funds various projects, the largest being a reforestation project. The theory behind "carbon offsets" is that those new trees planted by carbonfund grants consume more CO2 than your activity generates. That's the "hook". The way it works with AGR is that you give-up points and AGR pays Carbonfund some amount. How much is anybody's guess. My bet is that it's not a great dollar value per point compared to the potential value of those same points for future travel.

If someone feels strongly about providing carbon offset for travel or other activities, I suspect the best route would be to simply donate directly to Carbonfund and eliminate the middle man - AGR. The Carbonfund website has calculator to determine your contribution to offset an activity. Amtrak round trip coast-to-coast is a $12 contribution. A transcon flight is $24 (includes added effect of altitude). For $240 a year you get total dispensation for everything you do to increase greenhouse gases from travel to excessive flatulence. It's a choice.

Carbonfund


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## GG-1 (Jun 16, 2010)

PRR 60 said:


> total dispensation for everything you do to increase greenhouse gases from travel to excessive flatulence. It's a choice.


Oh No Flatulence is now harmful, how will Boston survive if they stop producing Baked Beans.  :lol:  :lol:  :lol: 

Aloha


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## the_traveler (Jun 16, 2010)

GG-1 said:


> PRR 60 said:
> 
> 
> > total dispensation for everything you do to increase greenhouse gases from travel to excessive flatulence. It's a choice.
> ...


How do you think AE gets up to 150 MPH so quickly shortly out of Boston? :huh:

:lol: :lol: :lol:


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