Vermont Rep. Peter Welch is going to make his office carbon neutral.
To do that Welch, a Democrat, is going to pay to support two renewable energy projects in Vermont that will produce in an environmentally sound way, the same amount of power used to run Welch's offices and the fuel used for staff travel.
He is also planning to introduce legislation that would encourage other congressional offices and federal departments and offices to make similar commitments.
"The federal government has got to provide some leadership," Welch said from Washington during a telephone news conference with reporters. "This is the practical, no-cost step that would have the benefit of helping clean the environment and supporting tremendous local, innovative projects."
To offset the 56 tons of carbon emissions produced by his office and through his travel, Welch is going to pay $672 to help fund a methane digester at a dairy farm in Westminster and to install a wood chip boiler at the Vermont Technical College in Randolph.
Welch is working with a Charlotte company, Native Energy, that specializes in helping companies offset their carbon production by investing in alternative energy projects across the country.
"This is the type of innovation that I believe we have got to be willing to take in hundreds of different ways in Congress, in the federal government and in partnership with the private sector," Welch said.
Last summer New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democratic, became the first member of Congress to become carbon neutral when his campaign bought carbon offsets by investing in wind power and the planting of trees in Lancaster, Penn., said Menendez spokesman Allyn Brooks-LaSure.
Most scientists agree that carbon dioxide produced primarily by the burning of fossil fuels is responsible for the gradual warming of the atmosphere. And the scientists predict that unless drastic steps are taken to reduce that warming there could be devastating consequences for the environment of the world.
One method of countering global warming is to offset the amount of carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels by investing in alternative sources of energy, such as wind, solar or the burning of biomass such as wood.
Native Energy works with companies and people across the country by brokering deals to offset their carbon emission by supporting renewable energy projects.
Welch estimates that the electricity used by his offices in Vermont and Washington and his travel and that of his staff produces 56 tons of carbon dioxide a year. The cost to offset that is $672.
Under current Congressional spending rules, Welch can't pay for the carbon offset out of his office funds so he is paying for it with his own money. But he said he planned to introduce legislation that would allow members of Congress and federal agencies to bill the government for the offsets.
In Welch's case, the money will be used to help fund a manure digester at the Westminster farm. The digester will extract the methane from the manure and use it to produce electricity. It reduces carbon dioxide emissions and has the added benefit for the farm of an income from the sale of power.
The other project that will be supported will be to help pay the costs of installing a wood-chip heating plant at Vermont Tech.
While some might question the impact of Welch's relatively small offset, he said a small step could, if his legislation passes, lead to changes by hundreds of congressional offices and government agencies.
"That ads up," Welch said. "So thousands of small actions are going to add up to a different way of doing business that can be good for the environment."
