Thanks to reader Joe, who writes:
Spotted this in Chicago on my way to the Daley Center. If you look closely, the sticker says “This car’s CO2 is offset by terrapass.” Naturally, the window sports a Northwestern decal as well. Unsurprisingly, Terrapass’s slogan is “Fight global warming, reduce your carbon footprint.”
Love your bumper sticker series so I thought I’d contribute. I – shockingly – spotted a bumper sticker in Chicago that said “Work harder! Millions on Welfare depend on you!” Unfortunately, he wasn’t in front of me long enough to snap a picture.
Joe, no problem on the “millions on welfare” miss, we got it covered.
As to the carbon offset industry, what possibly could go wrong?
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Comments
I’ll admit it….Terrapass is one of my all-time favorite scams. I admire the nerve it takes to pull a scam like that. Only an idiot would believe it, but just enough idiots do.
But hey, Terrapass is accredited with the BBB, so it must be legit, eh? /sarc
Although there are companies on the up-and-up that advertise their affiliation with the BBB, there are a disturbing number of scammers that are likewise prone to trumpet their rating with the BBB. The whole “green movement” is filled with hucksters that smell an easy buck, and are laughing all the way to the bank.
Ohhhh.. I just ran the numbers at Terrapass. If I pay them $791.00 per year, I no longer have to feel guilty about killing the planet!
Oh wait… I don’t feel guilty….
The TerraPass website says the average car emits 10,000 pounds of CO2 every year. If I drive 15,000 miles per year at 20 miles per gallon fuel economy, that works out to 750 gallons of gas. If gas weighs 6 pounds per gallon, that means the total weight of a years worth of gasoline works out to 4,500 pounds. How can I emit 10,000 pounds of stuff when I only put in 4,500?