Carbon offsets replace Oscar gift bags

Things are getting strange up in Hollywood

Posted by David Roberts at 10:46 PM on 25 Feb 2007

You couldn't ask for a more illustrative Sign of the Times: rather than gift bags full of swag, this year's Oscar presenters will be getting ... carbon offsets.

Recently the IRS has cracked down on the notorious gift bags given out at awards shows. In some cases those bags contain up to $100K worth of free swag for celebrities. (And who needs free swag more than celebrities?) Partially in response, the Academy has decided to stop passing them out at the Oscars.

Instead, each presenter and performer at this year's Oscars received a year's worth of carbon offsets from TerraPass (enough to cover 100,000 lbs of CO2, roughly double the average American's yearly output).

Two things will accompany the offsets. First this (from the press release, not yet online):

The fight against climate change begins with personal conservation. Along with the gift, presenters will receive a booklet describing ways to reduce their personal energy and fuel use. TerraPass has offered to calculate a complete carbon footprint for each gift recipient. TerraPass will then help the gift recipient draw up a personalized list of emissions reduction strategies.

Here's the booklet (PDF). I must say, it's pretty slick, and clever. Well suited to its targeted audience. It won't keep TerraPass safe from critics who accuse if of enabling celebs to feel OK about their enormous environmental footprints, but then again, what could?

Simon Pearce glass sculpture Second, there's this:

To commemorate the emissions reductions, Simon Pearce will provide each presenter with a beautiful hand blown glass sculpture. Long a champion of clean energy, Simon Pearce fuels its Vermont-based glass furnace with hydroelectric power.

I'm not sure how a glass sculpture that looks like ... well, you know what it looks like ... came to be the second half of the Academy's token of appreciation. Apparently it was selected by "gifting consultants" at Donum Elite Gifting. Who's going to question the judgment of professional gift consultants?

Anyway, not bad: from bling bling to carbon offsets in the course of one year. Times they are a-changin'.

For story: Carbon offsets replace Oscar gift bags
6 Comments | Post a Comment

Giddy up!

I love this...awesome idea! Now, let's not any of us get all self-righteous about this and reach for reasons to criticize. ["The electricity wasted to curl Jennifer Lopez' hair could power an entire African village for 10 years."] This really is quite a departure from the normal materialistic Holywood experience. Heck, I would have thought it cool if TerraPass (or other company) would have offset merely the celebs big night.

And, if global warming becomes the hot trend ("environmental stewardship is the new black"), good deal! Hey, educate then convert...or convert then educate. Whatever.

NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org

by Greta at 7:44 AM on 26 Feb 2007

Nice sculpture

It's a water drop, right?

Terrapass, as a for profit offsetter is especially suspect. Did they actually "donate" these offsets in return for publicity? As the contents of the "$100k" gift baskets were donated for advertising and tax writeoffs?

Did Terrapass get an advertising expense tax deduction for that? What a mess. In that case how much of the celeb's offset was payed for out of the huge federal deficit?

I favored tax credits to encourage renewwables and conservation, but now I'm wondering about that too. Only those who don't need the tax credits would get them.

These celebs could surely afford to buy their own offsets. Or maybe their own solar panels and electric cars instead?

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

by amazingdrx at 8:31 AM on 26 Feb 2007

Good idea

When Gore & Leo discussed the "Green" Oscars, I wondered what they meant. This is an awesome idea to replace the gift bags with something meaningful that might make an impression on the unknowing public.

Support anything that helps.

by Baby Boomer at 10:47 AM on 26 Feb 2007

Nothing to see here

Hi Dr. X,

Your suspicions are misplaced. Couple of things:

We didn't donate the offsets. The Academy purchased them.
As a not-yet-profitable start-up, I don't think we have any taxes to write off.
We agree that celebrities should be putting their wealth into energy efficiency. See the conservation handbook we put together for inclusion with the gift. (This was an out-of-pocket expense for us, but the way. No one was begging us to write the handbook.)

- Adam

www.terrapass.com/blog

by Adam Stein at 11:49 AM on 26 Feb 2007

Oscar green?

I thank TerraPass for getting celebrities to go green.
It is obvious celebrities fly private jets. I understand concern about security (how many actors publicly in favor of gun control pack heat on their Learjets).
There is a sane solution. If you fly private jet, you produce your own fuel from carbon dioxide. The same way a plant does. So, if you consume five hundred gallons of jet fuel to fly to the Oscars, you produce five hundred and ten gallons of fuel.
We should also discuss how we waste energy on meat. How many of actors last night are vegetarians? According to PETA it takes 40 times the energy to produce a pound of protein from beef as from soybean. We should encourage celebrites to disdain from meat.
And last we should stop the biggest threat to the planet, development and growth. I practice family planning. I have no children, and plan on one child and adoption.

by danielbarker123 at 3:13 PM on 26 Feb 2007

you know what it looks like...

Perhaps the Oscar folks are suggesting these "sculptures" be used to plug up certain greenhouse gas emissions. Wink wink, nudge nudge...

How big are those babies anyway?

NJD

by ndunne at 11:41 AM on 27 Feb 2007

ADVERTISING POLICY

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