Quotes are taken from an article by George Monbiot in The Irish Times Magazine, Saturday 13th Jan 2007.
- “The third excuse for inaction is more mundane. This is the idea, now popular with the Irish Government, that we can keep buying our way out of trouble. “Carbon offset companies promise to redeem the environmental cost of your emissions by means of intercession with the atmosphere, such as planting trees or funding renewable-energy projects in developing countries. just as in the 15th and 16th centuries you could kill, fornicate and lie without fear of eternal damnation, today you can leave your windows open while the heating is on, and drive and fly without endangering the climate, as long as you give your ducats to one of the companies selling indulgences.”
- “Buying and selling carbon offsets is like pushing the food around on your plate to create the impression that you have eaten it.”
- “At worst they allow us to believe that we can carry on polluting, just as, before the Reformation, the sale of absolutions encouraged people to believe they could carry on sinning. I cannot think of a more effective means of postponing the hard choices we need to make now.”
What I love is the image of buying indulgences. It give a very clear image of how the powers that be have a mindset that will be ridiculed in 20 or 30 years time. The Roman Church really sold bits of paper that certified that the sins had been erased. It is part of the, so called, “tradition” of the church. I suspect the mindset is the same. The need is for the powers that be to make money with the least effort possible. Their power is based on the status quo. To suggest change or to require changes in the behaviour of their supporters would require leadership and risk their positions of power. It would be hard and difficult work. Better to get others to do the work and just buy in the solutions. Is Dick Roche really as stupid as George Bush or are they just the worst type of politicians?
