So often politicians pay lip service to issues, particularly environmental issues, that is rare to witness actual action but we were able to see a glimpse of action on Monday as the results of a reverse auction of Carbon Financial Instrument contracts on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) was announced. The purchaser of 30,000 metric tons of Carbon credits was you. The auction was conducted on behalf of the United States House of Representatives in order to meet its goal of becoming completely carbon neutral by September 2008. The auction gets the House about a third of the way there and House members Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who were on hand for the announcement, explained how the House plans to get the rest of the way.
The event was held in Chicago at the CCX offices with CCX Chairman and CEO Richard Sandor hosting. Sandor called the auction, where CCX member bid their carbon offsets earned in various greenhouse gas mitigation projects, a historic event.
In addition to Sandor and the Congressman, Dan Beard, U.S. House chief administrative officer, who oversaw the project, was on hand. Beard said Speaker of the House Nanacy Pelosi (D-Cal.)had made global warming a priority. “Global warming is not going to wait and neither are we,” Beard said.
