Carbon Offsets, Capitalism To The Rescue

Carbon offsets, Al Gore style, are quite simply a sham. Little kids in the developing world are set to work operating treadle pumps so that rich elitists can fly private jets.

But now, there's a real prospect of actually removing CO2 from the atmosphere and environmentalists are against it.

The WeatherBird II, a 115-foot private research vessel, has put to sea from Florida as part of a novel and contentious effort to commercialize the removal of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by triggering blooms of plankton.

The ship is operated by Planktos, one of a host of companies involved with the fast-growing global market in “carbon offsets,” credits bought by individuals or companies seeking to compensate for carbon dioxide emissions from flying, electricity use or other energy-intensive activities.

The WeatherBird II entered international waters on Sunday, said Russ George, the chief executive of Planktos, based in Foster City, Calif.

Plankton blooms happen naturally when dust containing iron settles on ocean waters where a lack of iron otherwise prevents plankton from thriving. But efforts to replicate the process artificially have met with strong opposition from some environmental groups.

These include the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which for years has confronted, and sometimes rammed, whaling and fishing vessels. It had also planned to try to block a fertilization effort by Planktos this summer near the Galapagos Islands, but the company delayed that project for a variety of reasons, officials said.

As I've said many times before, I'll take global warming seriously when its alarmists take it seriously. That means carbon sequestration and nuclear energy.