Rockstars of the [last] week

Last week, thanks to SubPop Records, I decided to declare a whole group of bands as the Rockstars of the Week (I just didn't get around to writing about it until now). My favorites among this group include Band of Horses, Iron & Wine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Mark Lanegan, the Postal Service, The Shins, Stars, and Wolf Parade, but the full list of SupPop eco-heroes can be found here.

"Green" SubPop artists (clockwise from top left): The Shins, Iron & Wine, Band of Horses, Mark Lanegan, Wolf Parade, Postal Service

The reason for this recognition? As of last Monday, SubPop announced that it was “going green.” Specifically, the company has decided to offset 100% its energy use through the Green Tags program offered by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Through this program, consumers purchase green credits to offset their non-renewable energy usage, and the green credits in turn support renewable energy sources elsewhere in the country. The idea behind the program, and similar programs, is that you can support renewable energy even if it specifically is not available in your location.

I do have to note here, that ever since I heard about the idea of carbon offsetting, I’ve been admittedly skeptical as to the extent it actually helps the environment. I mean, it doesn’t actually reduce anyone’s energy usage, it just allows them to feel good about their energy consumption by spending money on environmentally friendly efforts. I’d compare it to a crotchety Mr. Burns-type character hurriedly dashing off a check to some bothersome visitor just to be able to say “there, see, I’m supporting your cause, now leave me alone to my opulent and lavish ways.” Buying your way out of a situation has never seemed like a legitimate option to me, if by spending money you find an excuse not to have to change your low-down ways.

However, not wanting to pass judgment without completely understanding the situation, I decided to do a bit of research and actually discover what the benefits of this complicated financial and ecological transaction actually are. The company that SubPop has chosen to buy “Green Tags” from is Bonneville Environmental Foundation, so I went to their website first to investigate, as well as to the website of Green-e, which is a certification bureau that monitors programs that sell green certificates.

The idea behind green certificates is not exactly straightforward and not the easiest to explain. For a legitimate explanation, I suggest going here. For a layman’s definition, keep reading, and I’ll do my best. I’ve actually found two explanations; the first is pretty straightforward and the second leans slightly towards favoring the program, I think. The straightforward explanation is that a green tag represents the difference in cost between producing renewable energy and the market value for energy. Because the government partially subsidizes traditional energy sources, and does not subsidize renewable energy, the cost of producing renewable energy exceeds that of non-renewable. The green tag represents the difference, and when traded, makes up the lack of funds to allow renewable energy to be created and sold at the market price (as my handy graph above illustrates). Thus the idea is the more green tags bought, the more renewable energy subsidized, and the more that can be created.

The slightly, well, polished explanation I found came from within the renewable energy industry, and claimed that renewable energy can be divided into two parts, the physical wattage and the benefits associated with it. The wattage is the part that actually creates energy, while the benefits include reduced carbon emissions and non-dependence on renewable resources. It’s as if you separated the physical value of a Christmas preset and the emotional value of receiving the present. According to the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, “Green Tags represent the environmental benefits that occur when clean, new renewable energy is substituted for power that is produced by burning fossil fuel.” By viewing it this way, and separating renewable energy into two valuable parts, you can treat them as distinct (albeit related) entities, allowing the energy part to create energy in one part of the country while selling the benefits part to someone elsewhere.

The difference in these two explanations is not that much, except that one is strictly economic while the other tries to make you feel better about paying money for something you can’t physically see. What both boil down to is that green tags are bought and sold to support renewable energy. This is a highly regulated practice, where one green tag is issued for every 1000kWh of electricity produced (that’s kilowatt hour, the standard energy measurement, which you can look up if you want an explanation). Green-e is one such regulatory agency that monitors the number of green tags per electricity, to ensure that the ratio is strictly at 1:1,000, or that there is not more than one green tag sold for every 1,000kWh.

The idea behind the Green-e program is that there are many locations where homes and businesses don’t have the option of renewable energy, because their local energy company doesn’t offer it. In these locations (or any location) consumers who would otherwise opt for renewable energy sources can choose to buy “Tradable Renewable Certificates” (TRC’s) as a way of “offsetting” their nonrenewable energy use. Offsetting essentially means that you purchase enough green certificates to balance out the amount of fossil fuels you personally use. This extends to as many applications as there are ways to use energy, from your monthly electricity bill to your daily commute to your annual family vacation where everyone climbs aboard a gas guzzling jet (which, I just learned, use about 5 gallons of fuel for every mile!). In SubPop’s case, they have chosen to offset all of the energy involved in the company’s operations.

The clutch detail that both shocked me and probably converted me into a supporter of green tags is discovering the statistic that (according to Green-e) only 2% of the electricity generated in the US comes from renewable resources. TWO Percent!!! Here we are lamenting the price of gas, worrying about the depletion of the earth’s resources, and we have only progressed far enough since inventing photovoltaic cells to allow 2% of our energy to come from solar, wind and other renewable sources? That statistic alone makes me want to support green certificate programs, as they provide hope that with more financial support the prevalence of renewable energy will spread.

So should you by green tags? That depends on how much you can afford to. In terms of ease and convenience, it couldn’t get any easier. In the words of Sub Pop president Jonethan Poneman:

“I was, quite frankly, shocked by how easy it is to support renewable energy. Green Tags are a simple way for anyone to choose wind energy, which, in turn, lowers dependence on burning fossils fuels for energy.”

However, I still adamantly maintain that being able to say you support a cause isn’t exactly the same as making lifestyle changes to support it. So I think if you’re going to buy energy certificates you also have to make a considerable effort to reduce your energy consumption as well. I actually think that a great way to make this work would be to model the structure of some of the international environmental treaties, which add another dimension to the practice of purchasing green credits. In many of these programs, including those set forth by the Kyoto protocols, developed nations are all allotted a specific allowance of emissions credit, which allow them to pollute only a specified amount. If the nation goes over this amount, they have to purchase “credits” from underdeveloped countries who are not polluting nearly as much, or who are practicing exemplary sustainable practices. The idea is to reduce overall emissions world wide. Applied on an individual scale, each household or business would get allotted a specific amount of watts each month to consume, based on the number of people in their household, their geographic location, and other factors. Households that went over this amount would be required to purchase green credits to offset their usage. With this system, the development of renewable energy resources would not only be supported, the overall reduction of our dependence on non-renewable energy sources would be reduced.

Unfortunately, as we live in a country that has not entirely approved of using this model on a larger scale (the US is one of the few countries not to have ratified the Kyoto protocol), I can’t see this ever being adopted. However, this doesn’t mean that you and I can’t adopt this personally. Want to give it a shot? Pick a number on your electricity bill, and try to reduce or meet it each month. If you reduce it, good for you. If you go over, buy the equivalent in energy credits that month to offset your use. Hey, it might not be something the entire country would adopt, but it’s a start.