So far on this tour we've done a lot of work to highlight the destructiveness of fish aggregating devices (or FADs) - and we've even confiscated a few as well, as there was a 2-month ban on their use in the high seas that evidently did not stop many commercial fishing vessels from using them. There's a pile of five of these things on our deck. One member of the crew described them to me as looking like giant, rusty crayons, but they're nothing nearly as benign as that.The use of FADs results in the bycatch of many juvenile tuna and other species like sharks, turtles, and reef fish, contributing to the depletion of fish stocks and threatening vulnerable marine life.To really show the diversity of marine life being threatened by FADs, our divers captured some footage and we've put together this short video:

In an absolutely heartbreaking turn of events, the European Union on September 22 refused to support Monaco's proposal to award the northern bluefin tuna the protections of CITES Appendix I. I am gutted.Even though a majority of countries within the EU - specifically those of Northern Europe, Scandinavia, and the British Isles - voted to co-sponsor, an uncompromising and hostile block of Mediterranean countries were able to defeat the process. Because of convoluted EU law, these southern countries were able to demonstrate enough dissent within the Union that the mighty juggernaut of European bureaucracy creaked to a halt. While 21 European nations seemed ready to support the ban, the unceasing whine generated by six short-sighted members - Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, and Cyprus - was able to derail the process. Without EU backing for Monaco's proposal, it becomes increasingly unlikely that the bluefin tuna will find succor. Rather, it will probably fall back under the domain of ICCAT - the very organization through whose lack of potency this magnificent fish has found itself in such dire straits.This is not progress. Want to point the finger at someone in particular? No problem. This nauseating story boasts a villain.Remember all that nice stuff I said about Sarkozy a couple months ago? I take it all back. France's first citizen has proven himself the worst type of turncoat; a traitor to his people and his planet. France was the first country to step forward and support Prince Grimaldi's proposal, but in recent weeks, Sarkozy has reversed his position and allied with the Mediterranean states. If France had not switched camps, the proposal would have most likely been endorsed by the EU. From a certain perspective, the actions of one individual may have doomed the world's largest bony fish to an ignominious demise.Want to tell Sarkozy what you think of his actions? Sign Greenpeace's petition. It's in French; Greenpeace UK has kindly provided an English translation.Fortunately, all is not lost. We can still save this animal - but yes, it is going to be more difficult that in otherwise would have been.First of all, there is a chance that Europe will reverse its position. Lobbying efforts are underway in France and other key countries, and if the balance of power can be swung away from the Mediterranean, the European Commission may vote in favor of the proposal after all. Unfortunately, we most likely won't know how this will fall out until early next year. So, in the interim, Monaco's proposal needs a new champion. There is a meeting in Brazil in November that will revisit this issue. Before it kicks off, we need to convince the government of a major world power to take a stand on this - and frankly, the best candidate is the United States. If we can get Washington to step up, we can still save the bluefin tuna from extinction.We're gaining momentum here in the States. The Coastal Conservation Association, a major recreational fishing association, has taken up the banner and is pushing to have Northern bluefin listed under CITES Appendix I. President Obama's Ocean Taskforce is traveling about the country holding open hearings on ocean issues, and the administration seems receptive to the idea of pushing this issue and creating marine reserves in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the bluefin spawning grounds. And numerous environmental groups and activists soldier on, waving the flag and shouting to the rooftops.Please, spread the word and get involved. Tell your friends and co-workers about this critical issue. Support Greenpeace's actions in France and help us get Paris back on track. Avoid sushi restaurants like Nobu that serve endangered bluefin tuna. Most importantly - don't give up on this amazing animal just yet. We can still turn things around.

Our 13th Guide to Greener Electronics rewards Hewlett Packard for putting a PC on the market that is virtually free of PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Meanwhile Apple just released their own green stats, and Newsweek published an environmental guide of 500 top US firms, many of them in the tech industry.

As you might have noticed, Newsweek ran a special issue this week with the cover story, "The Greenest Big Companies in America." The feature ranks the S&P 500 according to each company's environmental impact, policies and reputation. Dirt Diggers Digest points out that the list "has more validity than the usual exercises of this sort, which tend to take much of corporate greenwash at face value." But also notes "the magazine could have easily turned the list upside down and headlined its feature 'The Biggest Environmental Culprits of Corporate America'." The web version of the Newsweek issue has a nice sidebar dedicated specifically to greenwash, which includes these snipits: "Many corporations ... don't do much of anything to change the way they do business, but make a big show of their dedication to Mother Earth. It's usually easy to spot these companies: They make their customers do the work, and then take the credit. In the name of saving the planet, my cable TV operator keeps asking for permission to stop sending paper statements in the mail each month. Instead, I'm supposed to check my statement online. The real reason, of course, is that doing so would save them paper, printing and postage. This is a perfectly legitimate reason for them to want me to switch. But when they pretend that it's all about the environment, it just makes me hate my cable company even more than I already do. Despite this, I would still consider switching to online statements if they would agree to use the money they save to hire cable TV repairmen who know how to repair cable TV.""Sometimes a good ad campaign does a better job of enhancing a company's green reputation than going through the expense and hassle of adopting actual environmentally sound practices. Billboards in Washington implore me to join the cause. "I will unplug stuff more," reads one. Another says, "I will at least consider buying a hybrid." These ads are the work of Chevron, the giant oil company, whose "Will You Join Us?" ads try to convince people that saving the planet is at the top of their list. You might think that if Chevron was really worried about problems like global warming, they would spend some of those p.r. dollars lobbying Congress to adopt stricter gas mileage requirements for automobiles. They do not do this. Instead, I'm apparently supposed to praise them as environmental heroes because they tell me to unplug my toaster and think about getting a Prius. Yet ad campaigns like these work. Chevron lands at No. 371 out of 500 companies on Newsweek's green rankings." Read the full article and sidebar.

Ahoy there! I'm blogging from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza out here in the Pacific. We've just embarked on the second leg of the Defending Our Pacific 2009 tour, which is aimed at getting all four of the high seas pockets you see on the map below (marked in orange) designated as marine reserves - which is to say, closed to ALL fishing.We left Port Vila, Vanuatu just a few days ago, and are currently in transit, headed back out to the high seas to continue our quest to stop the pillage of international waters by longline and purse seine fishing vessels.A transit generally means a bit of down time, so I'm taking it upon myself to document some ship life for you. Check out these pics:Our captain, Madeleine (with binoculars), and second mate, Nadia, on the Espy's bridge, charting a course out of Port Vila Harbor.After taking my turn on "whale watch" yesterday evening, I stepped out onto the deck and noticed this high seas sunset. Pretty nice, eh?For a bit of recent history, check out the blog posts by Mary Ann (here, here, and here), the intrepid webbie who I have replaced onboard (actually I only replaced her as webbie, she's still onboard as a deckhand and is taking care of our waste and recycling in the role of "chief garbologist" - a noble and selfless job, I can tell you, having helped with the compost yesterday morning). As you can see from the blogs, the first leg of the tour was spent patrolling the first and second high seas zones to help enforce a temporary ban on fish aggregating devices (FADs) - highly destructive devices that catch EVERYTHING indiscriminately. FADs are commonly used by purse seine fishing vessels. We took direct action against those violating the ban. For instance, you can see the crew hauling a FAD we confiscated up on to the Espy here:On the second leg of the tour, we're going to continue searching out the pirates and the pillagers, and stand in solidarity with the Pacific island countries who are seeking a closure of the high seas pockets. We are also pushing for the implementation of sensible, sustainable fishing practices rather than longlines, purse seines, FADs, and all the other highly destructive fishing practices that are currently in use. Stay tuned.

This past winter Greenpeace partnered with the Collegiate KiteBoard Association to promote the use of Marine Reserves to help protect our oceans and its wildlife. It was fabulous to work with these energetic college students. I was especially grateful that they were putting their talents towards a cause that I hold close to my heart - saving the oceans. One part of this collaborative effort was to collect letters to President Obama from beach goers and ocean users expressing their sentiments about needed ocean protection. As we traveled from Jupiter to Key West, across central Fl to St. Pete, it was encouraging to see that so many people cared about the oceans and wrote short messages to President Obama. Everyone is well aware of how busy our new President has been since taking office and between the economy, 2 wars, healthcare and other issues there has been little time in the White House for our ocean agenda. Oh how we have might underestimated Pres. O's love and concern for our oceans. The President has directed his staff to work on creating a National Ocean Policy for America and restructuring the decision-making authorities of our Government to implement it. To this end he's created an ocean task force and put the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) in charge of coordinating this historic effort. CEQ is an executive arm of the White House that deals with environmental issues including oceans. We now have an Obama ocean team and yesterday Greenpeace, along with other non-profit organizations, were invited to come to the CEQ office and discuss our, under development, new National Ocean Policy. It was also an opportunity to for me to give President Obama all of the letters from concerned ocean lovers collected this past winter on the beaches of FL. The comments were so wonderful, that I wanted to share them with you. Keep the earth around for our kids!I love Turtles!Help save the reefs! Make some change! You rock!Please take care of our oceans - I love seahorsesPlease help to preserve our natural resources - ocean, world, airNobody likes a dirty beachHealthy oceans help keep a healthy planetThanks to everyone that was involved. -- Phil

Today leaders from the world's top 20 richest nations are at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, PA, discussing a range of global issues - global warming being a priority on the agenda. The world is ready for climate leadership. That's why we're continuing to put pressure on our elected officials to prevent catastrophic events of global warming by implementing science based solutions. While we wait for our leaders to answer the urgent call to action, more and more young people are stepping up to the challenge. All across the U.S. and Canada Greenpeace campus coordinators and on-call activists are mobilizing youth to tackle global warming on a local and national level.Six students in particular have shown that they are committed to the fight for climate justice. Aleah Loney of McGill University, Jess Serrante of the University of Vermont, Max Bartholomai of Southeast Community College, Audry Mills of Old Dominion University, Max Blaushild of Miami University of Ohio and Connor Gibson of the University of Vermont make up the Greenpeace Student Board for the 2009-2010 school year. The Student Board is a team of experienced student leaders who work with the Greenpeace staff team to coordinate the Student Network. Their work includes training and mentoring other students, coordinating days of action, providing updates to Greenpeace Organizing Term alum and students in the Network, and more.Meet the Student Board! Aleah Loney, Trainings CoordinatorOriginally hailing from Canada's West Coast, Aleah is now in her final year at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She is completing a double major in Political Science and International Development Studies with a minor in Sociology. Aleah spent a semester in San Francisco participating in the Fall 2008 Greenpeace Organizing Term. She also attended Activist Camp 2009, Greenpeace's summer training program for young people. Aleah is also involved in animal rights activism and loves music, dancing and traveling. Jess Serrante, Trainings CoordinatorJess is originally from New Jersey and now lives in Burlington, VT as a student at the University of Vermont. She worked on the Kleercut campaign in 2008 and participated in the GOT program in the summer in San Francisco. This year she helped recruit over 200 UVM students to attend Power Shift2009 in Washington DC. Currently, Jess is working on a campaign to shut down the Vermont Yankee, a nuclear plant whose permit is about to expire. She also enjoys yoga, hiking and reading. Max Bartholomai, GOT Alum CoordinatorMax is a student at Southeast Community College in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is looking to study Environmental Sociology at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln next year. In the Fall if 2008 he attended the Greenpeace Organizing Term in San Francisco - his first experience with environmental activism. In the past he has worked with the Gay-Straight Alliance and helped organize rallies/marches. Max's hobbies include bicycling, hiking, camping, and listening to music. Audry Mills, GOT Alum CoordinatorAudry attends Old Dominion University majoring in political science. She began her environmental activism by volunteering with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Surfrider Foundation organizing beach clean-ups, protesting developers, power plants and over fishing. She attended the GOT in DC in the Fall of 2007 and since then has attended two summer trainings with the Greenpeace Student Network and has volunteered with the Greenpeace Rolling Sunlight tour in the fall of 2008. She was the GOT Alum Coordinator for the Student Board last year, the first year of the Board. Outside of school and activism she enjoys surfing, yoga, painting and photography. Max Blaushild , Days of Action CoordinatorMax attends the Miami University of Ohio where he has been active since his first semester. Last year he was the event coordinator for the Power Vote campaign and has taken on other roles with his campus environmental club such as media officer and volunteer for Sustainability Day. He attended the GOT in San Francisco in the spring of 2009. Over the summer he was the GOT intern in San Francisco. Max also enjoys reading, writing, and backpacking. Connor Gibson, Days of Action CoordinatorConnor is an Environmental Studies student at the University of Vermont. He joined the UVM Forest Crimes unit, which worked on a successful Kleercut campaign. In the summer of 2008, he helped train students at Greenpeace's summer training program. He served as a Student Board member last year and attended the GOT in DC last spring. In the summer, Connor was the GOT intern in DC. Connor also has a passion for playing the drums, skateboarding and stargazing. If you're looking to develop your leadership skills join us on our monthly conference call trainings. To find out more about the Greenpeace Student Network visit us online.

The banner has come down. Greenpeace activists are safe. And, after two hours hanging from the West End Bridge, the 80x30-foot banner spoke to world leaders meeting in Pittsburgh at the G20 summit."Why am I here today?" The activists share their story in this inspirational video.I get goose bumps every time I watch this video. The line that sticks in my head each time I watch is, "as Americans we need to do the right thing, especially when it's hard." It's not easy to change the way the world operates. There is no "easy button" to turn off all the pollution and resource destruction. But, the reality is - burning fossil fuels for energy is destroying our planet. We need a fundamental switch to clean, renewable energy in order for future generations to have, well, a future.I realize that's not easy. It will take all of us working together, building "green" infrastructure. But, I believe that fighting for a clean healthy future for my son is worth it. I want to be able to look him in the eyes and tell him I did everything I could to make sure he could touch a 1,000 year old tree, swim in pollutant-free rivers, breath fresh air and see glaciers.I'm not a climber, but I was able to hang my very own Greenpeace banner - on Facebook! There is a really neat new app, try it out.And, if you haven't taken action yet, please do. President Obama needs to hear from all of us that we are ready for a strong world climate treaty. Together, we can do great things.--Michelle

We invite mothers, children and families to determine their mercury exposure levels through our do-it-yourself-kits. The results of our Greenpeace National Mercury Testing Project are in and the findings are startling. It's time to demand protection of our health from mercury pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants and to promote renewable energy for America.

Sign our petition telling world leaders that you are ready for them to sign a global climate deal in Copenhagen that is ambitious, fair and binding.

Greenpeace activists are hanging off a Pittsburgh bridge with a massive banner displaying our message to G20 leaders gathering for tomorrow's summit. The banner takes the form of stylized "road sign" that warns of the political maneuvering and delay that have put a international climate treaty in jeopardy as the world enters the final stretch on the road to Copenhagen.An update I just read on the Pittsburgh Business Times said, "Security personnel surrounded the area, with a bomb squad car directing traffic, and Army Corp., state police and city of Pittsburgh boats located in the water near the bridge."We are all gathered here at the office watching a live video feed of activists repelling from the Pittsburgh bridge. We are all biting our fingernails, waiting to see what happens next. Watch with us!And, when the video gets taken down - you can follow live updates on the Greenpeace website. The reason Greenpeace hung this massive banner is because world leaders need to work towards global warming solutions NOW! World financial representatives and leaders of the G20 (19 of the world's largest national economies, plus the European Union) are meeting in Pittsburgh to discuss both the global financial crisis and the global climate crisis.It is important for G20 leaders to kick-start economic recovery through clean energy investment. These elements are vital to achieve a good deal in Copenhagen and avert catastrophic global warming. Are you ready to step up to the plate? Join us in pressuring world leaders to act now before it's too late. We can show world leaders the impact that civil society can have on solving the world's challenges when we are unified. Now more than ever, we need President Obama's leadership to stop global warming, and he needs to hear from YOU!

Sorry, folks, the Supreme Court must have been wrong about CO2 being an air pollutant. I stumbled upon the Truth in the form of this half-page ad in Monday's Washington Post: Not only is there no scientific evidence that CO2 is a pollutant, higher CO2 concentrations actually help ecosystems support more plant and animal life… Higher levels of CO2 result in more plant growth as well as less water being required for plants to grow faster and larger. In fact, we all exhale CO2 and enjoy it in our carbonated beverages.This blows my mind. I don't even know how to categorize this latest piece of big-oil-funded misdirection. Junk science? Botany for third graders? Blatant untruthiness? CO2isgreen, Inc., the non-profit “with questionable parentage” that funded the ad, has already been called out twice in the blogosphere - once by Grist.org and again by Scienceblogs.com. Miles Grant correctly points out H. Leighton Steward's position as an honorary director at the American Petroleum Institute, recently in the news for staging astroturf campaigns, as well as his connection to numerous big oil companies:He's also a director at EOG Resources, an oil and gas company, a position in which he earned a whopping $617,151 last year. Steward is formerly head of Burlington Resources, now a part of ConocoPhillips) and former Chairman of the U.S. Oil and Gas Association and the Natural Gas Supply Association. Not a word about any of that in his bio on the site.The one connection that Grant missed is that Steward is currently Chairman of the Board of The Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at SMU, which has received $76,500 since 1998 from everybody's favorite greenhouse gangster, ExxonMobil.James Hrynyshyn paints a softer picture of Steward after talking to him on the phone, describing him as “earnest,” and insisting: …he's not a dupe of Big Oil trying to pull the wool over our eyes. At least, not consciously… He simply doesn't doesn't accept the mountains of evidence that carbon dioxide is a significant greenhouse gas, and that small changes in its atmospheric concentration can have a big impact on climate.Forgive my cynicism, but if it looks like big oil, works for big oil and gets paid by big oil, then it must be an earnest Joe with a penchant for taking out half-page ads in major news publications.If we are going to base our science on experiments carried out by 8-year-olds, let us discuss these carbonated beverages that we so much enjoy. It has long been known that carbonated beverages rot your teeth, due primarily to the carbonic acid, which forms when CO2 is dissolved in water. More CO2 in the air means more CO2 in the water. The resulting acidification is rotting our oceans: Almost half of all the carbon dioxide emitted since industrialization has been absorbed by the ocean. [Acidification] deprives animals like hard corals and certain mollusks and plankton of the raw material for their calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. This may ultimately cause the world's oceans to become corrosive to such animals, and coral reefs to dissolve. The science of our carbon burden is clear. What is unclear is whether world leaders gathered in New York for a UN summit on climate change can be convinced to act in the interest of the many and the future rather than the few and the now.

Greenpeace activists rappelled off of a Pittsburgh bridge with a massive banner displaying our message to G20 leaders gathering for tomorrow's summit. The banner takes the form of stylized "road sign" that warns of the political maneuvering and delay that have put a international climate treaty in jeopardy as the world enters the final stretch on the road to Copenhagen.

Watching The Age of Stupid reminded me of one of my favorite movies, The Usual Suspects. It also starred actor Pete Postlethwaite. "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." This quote the Usual Suspects was dancing around in my head as the movie showed the year 2020, a world where global warming effects is at its peak and devastation is all around. We have spent so much time and energy convincing all the nay-sayers that global warming truly exists, that we have precious little time to enact solutions that will address issues before it's too late.The movie is about an archivist in the devastated world of the future, asking the question: "Why didn't we stop climate change when we still had the chance?" He looks back on footage of real people around the world in the years leading up to 2015 before runaway climate change took place.Last night, the movie premiered in New York City. Politicians and celebrities strolled the green carpet past paparazzi into a truly low-carbon solar-powered movie theater.Hip Hop Artist, David BannerThe premiere was broadcast live last night to 440 movie theaters across the United States. And, today, the global premier3 continues on over 330 movie screens in 63 nations around the globe. The total audience watching this event well exceeds one million people. Actress, Heather Graham on the green carpetCheck your local theater to see if this movie is playing in your community. And, take action to tell world leaders that you're ready for a meaningful (with sharp teeth) global climate treaty, now while we still have the chance.Greenpeace activist Ashley Mirabile travels in a 'you-turn-the-earth' globe

Today, Hundreds of volunteers form a human countdown in Central Park as Climate Week kicks off in NYC. Global leaders have only three months to get their act together and sign a strong Climate Treaty in Copenhagen. Take action today and help show our leaders that this movement is massive and unstoppable. Image © Avaaz

This week, Planet Green's Focus Earth program airs an episode on greenwash. In the episode Bob Woodruff interviews environmental and corporate watchdog expert Kenny Bruno, author of Greenwash and Corporate Environmentalism, and myself from Greenpeace, to answer the question: are corporate green efforts for show only, or can they actually make amends for decades of un-sustainable, even downright harmful, business choices? Woodfuff also gets up close with leaders from Royal Dutch Shell, Ford Motor Company and Duke Energy to examine their environmental statements and actions. Watch clips from the show and find airtimes here.

Four courageous, inspirational women from around the world are in New York right now to urge President Obama and heads of state from over 100 countries to take action against climate change. These women have either lost their homes, jobs or food supply to flooding, droughts and other disasters. But they are taking action to rebuild their lives and they are now speaking out for their communities - their family. They are from Mississippi, Uganda, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands in the Pacific. In facing incredibly desperate situations - all of them have developed a strong voice for action climate change. Sharon Hanshaw, a cosmetologist from Biloxi, who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina, became a leader in preparing her community for the future. Ursula Rakova is moving the 1700 citizens of the tiny Carteret Islands to a mainland location in Papua New Guinea. Ulamila Kurai Wragg, a veteran journalist from the Cook Islands has galvanized Pacific Island women in media, from Hawaii to Fiji, to lead the way in addressing climate change. Constance Okollet, from a small village in Uganda, is a mother who is organising a network of 40 regional women's groups to confront starvation, drought and inadequate health care caused by climate change.

Did you establish a Climate Connection? Use this action alert to urge President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao to do everything in their power to ensure success at the climate talks in Copenhagen this December.

It's interesting to write about my experience as a Greenpeace Organizing Term (GOT) (www.greenpeace.org/got) student, because I so rarely took the time to do so during my term, and it's still a very fresh experience for me. I completed the GOT in the spring of this year, and now I help recruit students for the program. I really believe it's the best training for student activists and those who want to help build the movement! For more info on the program check out our site at: http://www.greenpeace.org/got. Read about my story below! I came to the GOT a little unsure of myself - I applied for the program because I knew I needed a shift in my life. There were folks at home who assured me I was continuously living with my head in the clouds, was too much of an idealist, and would eventually realize that I could not carry on this way. Boy am I glad I didn't listen to those downers. When I arrived in San Francisco, it was like I took in a huge breath for the first time in a long while (this seemed to be a common experience among my classmates). I remember calling my dad a few weeks into the program and having such joy in my voice that I think he was actually astounded. I explained how I was finally on the path I had been searching for - learning how to really make change in the world. I must say, there are a lot of really warm, fuzzy memories. My group grew to love each other like a family, and we supported one another in ways that I might not have experienced at home. We cooked together, we danced together, we explored parts of the country and the world together, and we most importantly learned from each other in ways that none of us probably thought we would. What drew me to organizing and what has kept me here is the opportunity to interact with all sorts of people. Specifically, getting trained to petition (stopping folks on the street for a minute to talk about a specific campaign and simple ways they can help) was one of the highlights of my semester. Petitioning is such an exhilarating experience because we were talking to strangers about things they probably thought they didn't have time to hear. At the end of some of those conversations the stranger would say, “Thank you for what you're doing here. Thank you.” Then they'd make that call to their congressperson to take a stand on environmental issues. Can you believe a three-minute conversation could have such an impact on someone's life? I came to the Greenpeace Organizing Term to learn how to organize events and to step outside of Detroit for a few months. That was it. What I came away with was far more than I could have ever expected. I now have a community of people who will be part of my life for a long time, the ability to teach and inspire others, the skills to organize a grassroots campaign in my community, and a far greater confidence in the person I am. Because of this experience, I'm now working to help recruit another class of inspiring young people to join Greenpeace and learn how to create change. If you are like me and want to learn how to make a difference, or know someone who is, check out our website at http://www.greenpeace.org/GOT and apply now!

Check out video of a press conference the team over at CROC just did. They're getting pretty desperate. They claim to have been endorsed by a "prominent environmental organization:"There's a bunch more of this type of insanity going on over at TheCROC.org. They have an “Earned Devastation Calculator” that lets you compute how much environmental devastation you're “entitled” to based on the good things you've done for the environment. (Then you can Tweet the results or sending them to Facebook. It's utterly shameless.)A few days ago I wrote about carbon offsets, the push from corporate polluters to include them in the American carbon market that would be created by ACES, and why that's such a bad idea. I also posted the PSA from a new organization called the Carbon Regulatory Offset Committee (CROC), which advocates expanding the offset program to individuals. CROC is not promoting the voluntary offsets you might purchase to offset the carbon emissions from flying in a plane or powering your home. CROC is determined to give Americans the “right” to do harm to the environment in return for the good things they do for the environment - using the very same logic coporate polluters use when they argue that they should be allowed to continue dumping carbon emissions into our air in exchange for purchasing offsets to protect forests somewhere else in the world. The bottom line is that emissions must come down. Corporate polluters shouldn't be able to buy their way out of it with offsets - which aren't even a reliable trade-off by any measure. Not only do offsets allow polluters to continue business as usual, but they're difficult to measure reliably - especially over the long-term. In fact, the largest auditor of clean-energy projects in the world was just suspended by UN inspectors "after it was unable to prove its staff had properly vetted projects that were then approved for the [European] carbon-trading scheme."Of course, the folks at CROC responded with a blog titled “The UN needs to take a chill pill."