[ExI] carbon credits at sfo

[spike]

I got a chance to see the carbon credits machine they installed at the San
Francisco airport.  This sounds like a joke, but I am not kidding, they
really have one.  There is a touch screen menu you can go thru, tell it how
far you are flying etc, and it calculates a suggested donation to offset
your carbon footprint.  In perhaps not the intended reaction, my knees
nearly buckled laughing out loud at this silliness, which attracted others
to come over and see.  We were all amused, but no one chose to swipe a
credit card.  Had I not been in a hurry, I would like to have hung around to
see what silly goof would actually fall for that.  

Carbon dioxide is apparently worth about 1.3 cents per kilogram.  I do not
know how they came up with that number.

The sign says "Keep our skies blue.  Purchase your air travel carbon offset
here.  Think of it as a tax on STUPID."

Actually I supplied that last part, but the first two sentences are genuine,
which led me to wonder about a number of questions, such as: what color is
carbon dioxide?  How is this donation to help decrease cloud cover, creating
clear bluw skies, as opposed to cloudy white?  Why didn't I think of this?
How can I make a buttload of money, knowing that there are people who would
really do this?  Where did the Hare Krishnas go who used to hang out at SFO?


http://sfappeal.com/alley/2009/09/sfo-kiosks-sell-carbon-credits-absolve-gui
lt.php

I am not kidding, they really have this thing.  

We asked this question some time ago on this forum: if there were to be such
a thing as carbon offsets or credits, who can sell them?  Can I?  Can
anyone?  Can I just print my own?  Or should it be the most carbon neutral
among us gets to print and sell them.  The most carbon neutral among us
would the those that intentionally do not breed, and no points for those too
ugly or mean to attract an actual nubile mate.

spike