ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ

You go to the supermarket, buy 50 sugar-rich candy bars, eat them on the way to your doctor`s appointment, and he or she says, you have nothing to worry about. The fat and the calories are credited to the producer. You are healthy. In fact, eat as much junk food as you want. As long as you don`t make it, itʻs not your problem!

Absurd, yes!

That is the approach used in climate change!

For the past 25 years, the U.S. has exported greenhouse-gas-intensive industries to other countries like China.

China is now the No. 1 greenhouse gas emitter in the world, but a quarter to a third of their emissions are for exports which we and other western countries consume.

Then we blame them for our ever-increasing consumption.

Consumption-based economics is based on the concept–if you eat it–you get credited with the calories, the fat, and the greenhouse gas emissions.

Common sense, eh?

How could Hawaii achieve fake carbon neutrality by 2045?

Use production, not consumption numbers. Rely on out-dated analysis errors if they are favorable like biomass-based electricity is always carbon neutral. Exclude the emissions of 10,000,000 tourists flying to Hawaii. Omit trans-oceanic travel. Omit emissions from fracked imported fuels. Omit. Omit. Omit.

Zero!

Thoughts on this or any other story? Write a Letter to the Editor. Send to news@civilbeat.org and put Letter in the subject line. 200 words max. You need to use your name and city and include a contact phone for verification purposes. And you can still comment on stories on .