7 Powerful Ways to Reduce Carbon Footprint

 

Here are the 7 reasons to become a Cotapper today, also known as 7 reasons why COTAP is the most powerful donation on the planet…

1)      Two huge impacts, one donation.  Your contribution to our first project does two things:  1) It creates seasonal employment in rural Nicaragua, the 2nd poorest country in the Americas, and  2) It puts your CO2 emissions in the trees planted by these communities.  In about 15 minutes, you can punch two big, global problems IN THE FACE.  Boom!

2)      Your budget + COTAP = Friends.  It’s completely up to you how much of your CO2 emissions to address.  With COTAP, you can offset as little as one tonne, all the way up to your full annual carbon footprint.

3)      COTAP is accountable.  Our projects are accredited and monitored by third-party carbon accounting standards and verifiers.  With our first project, YOU CAN SEE where the trees are actually going using Google Earth.  You’ll get reports on project progress.  Our first project’s 2010 report is on our website, and their 2011 report is coming out in November.

4)      COTAP is transparent.  There are two simple yet very powerful things you will find with COTAP and not anywhere else:  1) You can see specifically how much of the funds COTAP passes on to our partner, and 2) how much will go to the rural communities.  COTAP visits project sites to review records and interview the farmers to make sure our programs are working for them.

5)      COTAP is no handout.  COTAP is trade, not aid.  With microfinance, you make a loan to the poor.  Like microloans, carbon offsets are a widely-used instrument, technically referred to as Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs).  Whereas through a loan you get paid back, through COTAP you’re essentially paying someone for performing a service.  Through COTAP, you’re creating jobs for the poorest people in the world.

6)      COTAP means action & empowerment.  There is no shortage of gloomy news about poverty, hunger, and climate change.  Through COTAP, you can actually DO SOMETHING that will have a far-reaching and enduring impact on all three of these global challenges in 15 minutes or less.

7)      Oh no, there’s more than 7 reasons why COTAP is awesome!  There’s more.  We’ll stop here, but here’s a glimpse:  COTAP-funded projects create many secondary benefits like improving food security, restoring watersheds to improve water quality and  reduce flooding, and providing a financial bridge so that communities can transition to sustainable farming practices.  And one more thing: your contributions is tax-deductible.  OK – now we’re done!

How Your Offsetting Changes Lives