That’s the first I’ve heard of the plankton guys. I guess it’s untested and that’s why it’s disputed. If it was really that easy to combat global warming I think we’d be dumping more iron into the ocean, but I’d be curious to hear what more scientists think about it.

As for Terra Pass, the more I think about it all you are paying for with TerraPass is for them to subsidise unprofitable projects such as solar plants and windmills. It’s great that these things get built, but they will always require some sort of subsidy… doesn’t seem so sustainable. I guess I was under the impression that they were going to plant X amount of trees. Another reason I’ve become so disillusioned is that 99% of the drivers out there are not going to buy a TerraPass, so the impact I’m making is pretty minimal. Once it becomes law I think it will be a better idea.

USA was praising them a few months ago.
USA today article

But it seems that the rest of the world thinks they’re irresponsible:
BBC article

Why is it that there is no consensus on this sort of stuff?? Japan – the home of the Kyoto protocol – should stand up and tell the world what to do.

I have used them… they sent me a bumper sticker that says my car is carbon balanced. They are independently audited, so they will reduce the carbon that they say they will.

But as you noticed they may be doing a bit of price gouging. I know they have MBA’s working for them and MBA’s aren’t cheap (they’ve all got loans to repay) and they do state that they’re not a non-profit.

I don’t think they’re a scam, since I have read several articles and they have worked a deal with Expedia (the Terrapass option should come up if you get a plane ticket with them) but I bet a lot of money goes into their overhead. Just speculation though, so hopefully they get around to answering your question.

http://www.charlotte.com/112/story/153260.html

Here is a link to how the oil companies are spinning this for their benefit:
http://www.grainnet.com/articles/Group_Says_Stanford_University_Ethanol_Study_Tainted_by_ExxonMobil_Ties__Foundation_for_Taxpayer_and_Consumer_Rights______04_26_2007-43760.html

Bottom line, in all honesty, is we must reduce consumption. Mass transit (for cities outside of Tokyo) improvements, zoning that prevents urban sprawl, and a return to a bicycle society might be the most likely candidates.

All of this ultimately is linked to oil company fears of peak oil. A good book I’ve been reading on this is “The Empty Tank”. Good luck in finding this book or information discussed in Japan…

Story in the Vancouver Sun

“Japanese motorists may one day pump their cars full of sake, the fermented rice wine that is Japan’s national drink, if a pilot project to create sake fuel is a hit with locals in a mountain resort. The government-funded project at Shinanomachi, 200 kilometres northwest of Tokyo, will produce cheap rice-origin ethanol brew with the help of local farmers who will donate farm waste such as rice hulls to be turned into ethanol. A hybrid vehicle that runs on gasoline mixed with ethanol is refuelled in the picture on the right.”