What might Daniel Murphy think of PG
&
amp;E’s new ClimateSmart program? I believe the pioneer rancher
who settled here in the South Valley in the 1840s would probably
consider it a worthy endeavor to help preserve our planet.
What might Daniel Murphy think of PG&E’s new ClimateSmart program? I believe the pioneer rancher who settled here in the South Valley in the 1840s would probably consider it a worthy endeavor to help preserve our planet.
Murphy and his Irish family journeyed west in 1844 on a wagon train that became the first to traverse the rugged Sierra mountains. After reaching California, he and his father bought land in Santa Clara Valley. Much of that real estate is now the city of Morgan Hill and the community of San Martin.
Murphy’s business savvy and wise investments made him an extremely wealthy man. With an eye for the technological future, he provided much of the capital to start an electric utility company in San Jose. He served as its first director. His company was eventually bought out by what’s now Pacific Gas & Electric, and that’s why I wonder what Murphy would think of the firm’s ClimateSmart program.
I learned about ClimateSmart a couple of weeks ago when checking out my monthly PG&E bill online. It’s essentially a carbon offsetting program designed to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Customers voluntarily add to their monthly bill an extra charge based on their energy usage. The money – 100 percent of it – pays for ways to minimize their home’s “carbon footprint” created by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. On PG&E’s Web site, I learned I can offset my own home’s carbon footprint by paying an additional 66 cents a month.
To be honest, I’ve always been skeptical about the concept of carbon offsetting. To me, it always seemed a bit like the infamous indulgences the Catholic Church sold during the Middle Ages. Back then, people paid money in exchange for forgiveness of their carnal sins to minimize their time in purgatory. Carbon offsetting works in kind of a similar way, I once thought. People and corporations pay money in exchange for forgiveness of their energy “sins” – rather than simply conserve energy and use fossil fuels more efficiently.
I’ve also been concerned about the accounting methods used in calculating carbon emissions reductions. How trustworthy are the offset programs people are buying, I’ve wondered. According to a recent Financial Times article, some brokers have provided offset services that weren’t legit.
With these concerns, I talked with Keely Wachs, the environmental communications manager at PG&E, and he explained to me how ClimateSmart works. “It’s a volunteer type of offset program with the intention of making our customers carbon neutral,” he said. “It’s not a license to pollute. We really want for our customers to hear the message of energy efficiency.”
The environmental projects chosen for ClimateSmart must fulfill stringent protocols and standards to achieve the impact PG&E is looking for, Wachs said. These are selected through a competitive bidding process through the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR), a nonprofit organization managing the protocols that will ensure transparency and accountability for the state’s voluntary offset programs. The California Public Utility Commission also must give its OK.
So far, the CCAR has approved two protocols. One involves purchasing forest land to preserve trees from logging. The second involves better management of livestock manure, a major source of methane.
A decade or so ago, few major U.S. companies seemed to truly care much about saving Earth’s climate. Big oil companies – notably ExxonMobil – are still trying to con the American public into believing global warming is not scientifically verified (see Newsweek, Aug. 13). One U.S. senator, who is politically indebted to the oil industry, even famously called global warming “a hoax.” But in recent years – notably after Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary – the corporate world is fast discovering the color of money is truly green.
“We’ve come to the conclusion that climate change is real and the time for action is now,” said PG&E’s Wachs. “That’s the guiding principle of our company. We felt this (ClimateSmart) program really complemented our leadership on energy efficiency and clean energy.”
So would Daniel Murphy give a thumbs up to the ClimateSmart program? From what I know of him, he always kept a practical and optimistic eye toward the future. And as a rancher, he knew that protecting the environment meant protecting his own livelihood – something many urban dwellers nowadays fail to understand.
I think Murphy would tell today’s South Valley folks it’s smart to spend a few dollars a month to offset our carbon emissions and help save our world’s climate. That’s why I quickly signed up with ClimateSmart. For me, spending 66 cents a month is a small price to pay to help save our planet.
