A Carbon Offset, also known as a Verified Emission Reduction (VER), represents one ton of greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon equivalent prevented from being emitted into the atmosphere. Carbon Reductions allow you to “balance” your emissions by supporting GHG reduction projects across the U.S.

Your purchase includes a purchase of carbon offsets to match your carbon footprint. In addition, for every ton of carbon offsets purchase, $1.50 will be directed to the SF Carbon Fund, which supports local greenhouse gas reduction projects in San Francisco.

Your welcome packet includes the following items to assist you in communicating the benefit of your purchase to others, and to encourage you to bring climate solutions down to earth.

• Certificate with information about the environmental benefits of this purchase
• Garcia River Forest Project Profile
• Your Product Content Label and Terms & Conditions
• Information about San Francisco Carbon Fund

The cost per ton for offsets purchased through the Climate Passport Carbon Calculator is $13.50. For every ton you purchase, $12.00 goes to purchasing carbon offsets from the Garcia River Forest Project as well as covering costs associated with locating, researching, and verifying high quality projects as well as the other general operating costs typically incurred by any organization. The remaining $1.50 goes to the San Francisco Carbon Fund to support local San Francisco carbon reduction projects.

The Carbon Offsets purchased through the Climate Passport Carbon Footprint Calculator are sourced from the Garcia River Forest, a conservation-based forest management project located in Mendocino County, California. The project achieves multiple goals including: increased sequestration and storage of carbon in native redwood forests, wildlife habitat restoration, and a sustainable supply of certified wood products.

In the heart of the Redwood region of California's North Coast, the Garcia River Forest is dominated by native Redwood and Douglas Fir trees that are remarkably resilient to pests, fire, and disease. Redwood forests store more carbon per acre than any other forest type on earth. The nonprofit Conservation Fund purchased the Garcia River Forest in 2004 and established the first large nonprofit-owned working forest in California. Garcia River is recognized by the California Department of Fish and Game as a high priority for protection and recovery of the state and federally-listed endangered Coho Salmon and Steelhead Trout. The property also supports Northern Spotted Owl and numerous other rare plants and animals.

By preventing forest loss through a permanent conservation agreement held by The Nature Conservancy and managing working forests to enhance forest carbon stores, considerable gains in carbon sequestration can be achieved relative to business-as-usual practices.

The project is registered with the Climate Action Reserve (using California Climate Action Registry standards) under the Forest Protocol and the 2005-2006 reductions were certified in February, 2008, following CCAR approval of the third-party verification report prepared by Scientific Certification Systems. Annual verification will be conducted to measure the growth of carbon stocks in the forest.

For every ton sold through the Climate Passport Carbon Calculator, $1.50 will be directed to the San Francisco Carbon Fund. The SFCarbon Fund is an innovative program that invests monies from activities that produce greenhouse gas emissions (such as air travel) into local projects that reduce greenhouse gases and help support community development. The SFCarbon Fund is completely transparent, accountable and creates real benefits for San Francisco's citizenry and environment. Because all projects take place within the boundaries of the city, the customer is given the opportunity to support local projects when offsetting pollution generated by their activities while investing in the sustainability of San Francisco’s future.

The SFCarbon Fund provides an avenue for the community to experience the many environmental and economic co-benefits that greenhouse gas reductions can create, including:

• Expedite the development of innovative local climate friendly projects.
• Support non-profits, businesses and other local organizations working to better the community environmentally and economically.
• Break down market barriers to climate friendly technologies and practices.
• Increase green collar jobs and boost the local economy.

Climate change refers to the phenomenon that is causing the Earth to become warmer, which means that our climate and our weather systems are changing. Today, the Earth is hotter than it has been in two thousand years. According to NASA, 2007 tied with 1998 as the second warmest year on record. The eight warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998 (including 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007) and the 14 warmest years on record have all taken place since 1990. For over the past 200 years, the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and deforestation have caused the concentrations of heat-trapping "greenhouse gases" to increase significantly in our atmosphere. These gases prevent heat from escaping to space, somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.

About three-quarters of the anthropogenic [man-made] emissions of CO2e into the atmosphere during the past 20 years are due to fossil fuel burning. The rest of the man-made emissions are predominantly due to land-use change, especially deforestation. The latest report on the science of climate change from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting, concluded that continuing polluting business-as-usual practices is likely to increase global average temperatures between 1.1°C and 6.4° C above 1980-1999 levels by 2095, leading to more droughts, heat waves, floods and stronger hurricanes, rapid melting of ice-sheets and rapidly rising sea levels.

Visit our website at www.3degreesinc.com and visit our Knowledge Center for answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about 3Degrees, carbon offsets, climate change…and more! You can also call 866.614.7050 (toll-free) or email climatepassport@3degreesinc.com.