There’s a new banker in town, and he doesn’t care about how much money you have or you owe. He runs a new kind of bank that checks out your carbon footprint, then sends you a bill, or issues you a credit, depending on whether or not you’ve been environmentally naughty or nice. As Wikipedia defines it, a carbon footprint is “a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. It is meant to be useful for individuals and organizations to conceptualize their personal (or organizational) impact in contributing to global warming.” The Kyoto Protocol defines each member country’s goals in this respect (of course, the U.S., the worst global offender with the biggest footprint, didn’t sign up to this accord. At the time the occord was designed and signed by the majority of our global neighbors , Bush was still in “the denial stage” about global warming. Their are some signs that “Sleeping Beauty” is awakening, but nothing will be done by this administration, I’m sure, for the remainder of Bush’s term”. Let’s hope the next president is a little more on top of things). By the way, you can calculate your own personal carbon footprint HERE. If an entity creates a larger carbon footprint than was agreed to, that entity then “owes” the rest of the Kyoto members, and must eventually settle the debt via currency or goods traded. These credits can be bought and sold in international markets, at the prevailing rate, much like you would buy or sell a stock.

Iceland’s carbon bank account makes the rest of us look like paupers. Iceland has a decade’s long strategy of tapping sources of renewable energy. Whereas a number of U.S. states (Note: not Federal government!), have set goals of 10 to 15 percent renewable energy generation, Iceland now is already at about 80%. Geothermal or hydorelectric plants provide virtually all of Iceland’s electrical needs, and homes are typically heated by water pumped from geothermal hot spots. They are also amongst the first countries to have a hydrogen infrastructure (i.e., “gas” station) in place, and a number of their buses are currently powered by hydrogen engines.

Admittedly Iceland is blessed with an abundance of water and geothermal constructs to allow this potential. But it is also a focus and determination that has allowed them to bring these renewable energy sources to fruition. Now if we can only get the U.S. and the rest of the world on board. Hmmm, maybe polar bears won’t become a nuisance to citrus growers after all!