Bill Gates is a hypocrite, working against aviation by pandering to the anti-human mentality of climate catastrophism while taking advantage of aviation’s benefits.
I support inclusion of the question.
Allen & Company is a small financing arrangements operation, quality of leadership is notable including ethics and lack of bureaucracy.
Recently emphasizing entertainment industries, so expect Bezos to show up.
Gates may be making contacts for contributions to his confused charity. He cycles through methods of the charity in the health field, learning as he goes just like he did with software such as Windows.
Jim, thanks. The post was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but also a little serious. I understand how carbon credits work and why the price varies. Right now, it is definitely a seller’s market for credits. My problem with the whole carbon credit concept is that it is subject to considerable “manipulation” by those looking to profit from the program. To use your example, planting trees is a good thing, but proving you were doing it to specifically offset carbon emissions, as opposed to taking credit for trees you were intending to plant anyway is the trick. Also, when a company shuts down a coal-fired generator, were they planning to retire it anyway due to it’s age, or are they really trying to reduce emissions? My comment about the Tesla is a similar example in the extreme. If I only did it to claim credits does not qualify unless I could prove that I routinely drive X miles a year and will continue to do so with the electric car. Obviously the couple tons of CO2 I would save is a pittance compared to power plants or steel mills, so not really worth the trouble.
My point was that the system is well intended, but also complex and subject to some questionable tactics. It gives the appearance of being a PR game for rich people to justify their lavish lifestyles without any real pain on their part. As usual, if people are really serious about cutting carbon emissions, they should be looking at the large emitters like cement production, power generation or steel mills and not at the 2.5% of total emissions that come from aircraft. Also, the U.S. Has reduced its total carbon emissions by about 20% since 1995, so let’s get credit for progress instead of being villified for what hasn’t been done.
I agree that carbon credit schemes are complex and subject to manipulation. You point out some of the weaknesses.
A straight-up carbon tax is simpler and harder to game than carbon credits. Would you be in favour of a carbon tax in the USA? My province of British Columbia has had a carbon tax in place since 2008, and it seems to have worked well and been effective at reducing the rate of carbon emission.
My province of British Columbia also just recorded a high of 49.5°C (121°F), the highest temperature ever in recorded Canadian history, and higher than the record high for Las Vegas. The next day, that village (Lytton) burned to the ground. Climate change is happening, human actions are driving it, and we are experiencing the results now. “Credit” and “villification” aren’t the point. “Harm” and “response” are the point.