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Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

The Portland Tribune, May 31, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (11 Reader comments)

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Just plain old “Starlight Parade”? How about “PGE/SOLV Carbon Neutral Starlight Parade”?

PGE said that for the second straight year, the Portland Rose Festival’s Starlight Parade has purchased enough carbon offsets from the Climate Trust to be considered “green.”

The parade, which begins at 8:30 tonight in downtown Portland, purchased the offsets because of the carbon emissions from the vehicles and floats that will roll through the city in the traditional event.

The purchase offsets about 240 pounds of carbon dioxide produced by 43 floats, plus cars, police motorcycles, garbage trucks and street sweepers as they travel the 2.5-mile parade route. PGE also purchased more than enough carbon offsets to cover the emissions produced by parade participants' travel to and from the parade.

The electric utility also plans to purchase carbon offsets for the Saturday, June 7, KeyBank Grand Floral Parade.

In addition, the lights at this year's WaMu Waterfront Village will be powered by energy supplied from wind farms in Oregon and Washington. PGE will provide the Portland Rose Festival Association with about 100,000 kilowatt hours of wind energy for the Waterfront Village’s 11-day run that ends Sunday, June 8.

The wind energy will offset the release of more than 90,000 pounds of CO2, or about the same as not driving more than 100,000 miles or planting 6,000 new trees.

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Reader comments

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

If they want to be carbon neutral they should buy enough offsets for all the cars that people will drive to these events.

"Carbon Positive"

(email verified)

Fri, May 30, 2008 at 08:13 PM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

what did the Carbon offsets cost.

Does this mean you can pay to pollute?

"How much did it cost"

(email verified)

Fri, May 30, 2008 at 11:15 PM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

How much did the Carbon Offsets cost?

"How much does it cost to be Green?"

(email verified)

Sat, May 31, 2008 at 12:36 AM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

It would be interesting to know how much it cost and to whom it was paid. Al Gore probably has his fat hand in it somewhere. Also, did PGE factor in the co2 pumped out by all of those polluting people who actually exhale at the parade?

"Ralph"

(email verified)

Sat, May 31, 2008 at 01:27 AM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

Carbon offsets are nothing but a silly fraud! If they truly believed in this garbage, they wouldn't have a parade.

"Doug"

(email verified)

Sat, May 31, 2008 at 02:20 AM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

As green as I like to think I am, this whole carbon offset thing seems like a sham. You buy someone else's reduction in carbon to offset the carbon you produce. Then you feel good about yourself for being "green".

How about the parade simply reduces the carbon it produces if they want to call it green? Otherwise don't and have the parade anyway.

Ralph, I'm sure PGE didn't factor in all the farts produced by the people who ate food that gives them gas.

"if you're going to call yourself green, then be green"

(email verified)

Sat, May 31, 2008 at 02:48 AM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

Is there any logical reason why this parade needs to have motorized vehicles in it?

"Tommy C."

(email verified)

Sat, May 31, 2008 at 04:08 AM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

What a total crock!

"Carbon offsets??"

Where else but in manic, pass-the-granola Portland would this happen?

Good grief.

"Ami"

(email verified)

Sat, May 31, 2008 at 06:21 AM

Re: Carbon offsets put Starlight Parade on ‘green’ route

If they were really serious about 'green' they'd cancel the stupid Rose Festival, the parades, and all the environmentally unsound wastes that go along with it.

It's sort of like trying to take Algore seriously when he uses more fuel to fly around the world crying 'global warming!' than I will use in my lifetime.

My god.