Carbon Offsetting

Since its inception, bluehouse has been a retail pioneer in the area of green business practices. Every aspect of our business was built around the idea of lowering our impact on the earth, from the construction of our space to the products we sell. Now, we take our commitment to the environment one step further by implementing a three-phase plan to offset our carbon footprint by generating clean wind energy.


What is this “carbon footprint” you speak of?

Most modern business activity results in generating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in greater amounts than would normally be there. Carbon dioxide is a major pollutant that is released by burning fossil fuels, and fossil fuels must be burned to generate most of our country’s electricity and to transport goods via air, ocean, truck, and train. The specific amount of carbon dioxide each entity is responsible for is its carbon footprint.


What’s so bad about carbon dioxide? We exhale it, don’t we?

Humans and animals exhale carbon dioxide when we breathe, yes. But as Jim Maguire, president of WindCurrent notes (more on him later), six billion breathing humans isn’t the problem . . . six billion humans driving around in polluting vehicles and having their food transported from the furthest reaches of the earth IS the problem. By artificially inserting that much extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, humans are affecting the global climate because carbon dioxide is famously one of the “greenhouse gasses” that are blamed for global warming the resulting natural disasters. Worse, humans have eliminated much of the earth’s natural defense against this problem by cutting down trees and destroying other natural ecosystems that absorb carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. This is, incidentally, why bluehouse is so committed to providing products that result from tree alternatives and responsible forestry practices.


Good heavens, man! Can I not make a move without causing the end of life on earth? What is offsetting and how can it help this problem?

Carbon offsetting is when an entity determines how much carbon dioxide is generated as a result of its unavoidable actions and causes an equal amount of non-polluting energy to be created to, in effect, cancel out the transgression. In the case of bluehouse, we are working with a company called WindCurrent to generate clean wind power. When people use the electricity generated by wind turbines, they are not using electricity generated by burning fossil fuels, as they normally would. The net result is no added pollution. Obviously, it would be more appealing to not have had the pollution in the first place, but this is the next best alternative.


Tell me more about this WindCurrent.

My, aren’t you inquisitive today. It’s OK, I live to serve. WindCurrent is a company that brokers wind power generation in the Midatlantic region. They currently work with wind farms in West Virginia and in the Midwest, but they are working to build new ones in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The president of (and creative genius behind) WindCurent is a great guy named Jim Maguire. They have a very interesting website at windcurrent.org that discusses all of the details, including some very interesting thoughts on how wind power is an important national security issue.


Will I notice anything different about bluehouse now that you are oh-so-carbon-neutral?

If you have very sharp eyes, you might be able to sense a certain glow of holy green light around our store. Also, when you shop on our nifty website, you will notice a few cents handling charge added to your order, which will go directly to the civilization-saving efforts of WindCurrent. It’s a small price to pay for the glow of a certain holy green light, which will envelop the recycled packaging of your order when it arrives at your door.