Trouble really begins - Call for Action 2 and responses...

Here's a somewhat edited (for truth) version of the email thread from Kim...

For the record, I thought X said he'd draft an agreement. My bad.

Halstead and Rob Wood have some great comments about specifics (see previous post).
I would say that we need a task force to address these questions and
join in preparing a draft proposal. The TF should also put together a time
line, propose a flashy name for the effort, and consider spawning additional
tasks-forces to head up:
- a toolkit (co2 calculators, etc);
- a marketing strategy (ie ways to get the wider UW community involved); 
- things like bulletin boards and a website (walls of fame/shame) to keep track of emissions
and promises and to generally hold people accountable.

To address one query, the agreement could certainly have a clause about offsetting
your travel emissions. (Despite not owning a car, my personal and work trips are
killer in this category.) There are many ways this could happen, and I'd like to
hear everyone's suggestions. For those who cannot afford the $50 or more per flight,
perhaps they could volunteer with the Washington Trails Association
(http://wta.org/), EarthCorps (http://www.earthcorps.org), and the like.

These are my ideas and the thoughts of a few others below. Feel free to add your own.

Cheers,
Kim

On Nov 18, 2007 10:01 PM, Greg <> wrote:

Kim et al.,

I'm all for it, but in a tax-averse state like WA, where will the
revenue come from (presumably this policy would cover all state
employees)? I don't see how this can come out of the UW operating budget.

Actually, I would rather see something like a $5 per gallon tax on
gasoline. Although that wouldn't have all the symbolism and pretension
of "covering our carbon footprint," it would limit consumption and force
alternatives. If Olympia buys carbon offsets and our behavior doesn't
change, what's the point?

G

On Nov 18, 2007 11:06 PM, Chris <> wrote:

Dear Kim,

I already work really hard to minimize professional travel, which
is even so the biggest part of my greenhouse footprint. What I will do
is email my NSF program manager to see what it would take to
add greenhouse offsets for a professional trip as an allowable expense
to the grant (ultimately hopefully mandatory, but start small). Perhaps
the incentive is better if we pay personally, but the ethics aren't
correct (we often have little choice about going to meetings, and it is
funding groups that organize them and make PIs attend that really need
to rein themselves in).

Chris