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Carbon Offset Deposits

CNO hasn't received grants yet. We fund our programs with donations and by selling high quality, verified carbon offsets for $15/ton (learn more here).

So far, our members have deposited:

In order to purchase:

They've done this since April, 2020:

Carbon Offset Purchases

After our members make a deposit, we turn around and purchase carbon offsets on their behalf. So far we've purchased:

Once we purchase them, the next step is to retire them. This means they are taken out of circulation (and can't be claimed by others). Retiring a carbon offset is like ripping up a coupon for a haircut. Once you rip it up, nobody else can use that coupon.

Of the tons we've purchased, these have been retired from circulation:

And we still need to purchase:

Here's another way to visualize this process. First our members make a deposit with us. Then we purchase tons on their behalf. Finally those tons are retired from circulation:

Carbon Offset Retirements

When someone retires a carbon offset, a record of that retriement is published in a public database. Click the links in the 'Retirement Date And Public Record' column to view the retirement records:

Carbon Offset Projects

There are many ways we cany pay people to avoid emissions or pull them out of the atmosphere. Each of these project types have pros and cons. We support projects based on our current understanding of what's most effective. See this guide for a crash course (especially page 36).

We are working to develop verified carbon offset projects here, in the Midwest. Stay tuned.

So far we've purchased from these project types:

Afognak Forest Carbon Project

Type: Forestry & land use

Location: Afognak Island, Alaska

Description: The Sitka Spruce forests of Afognak are also home to a variety of wildlife like Kodiak brown bears, river otters, bald eagles and five different species of Pacific salmon. There may be as many as 1,000 bears on the 700 square mile island. Unfortunately, in the past some of the forest was clear-cut, leaving nothing, without any program to replant the trees. Projects like this one regrow and protect the forest and animal habitats with the goal to conserve this forest in perpetuity.

More information: Project summary

Henrico County Landfill Gas Combustion Project

Type: Methane capture and utilization

Location: Henrico County, Virginia

Description: As products in landfills rot, landfills release methane into the air. Methane is a greenhouse gas, like carbon dioxide, but it's about 30 times worse. Projects like this capture that methane - so it's not released - and burn it to generate electricity. In this case, it can generate 4 MW at peak times, enough to power about 2,000 homes.

More information: Project summary

Terra Yazoo City #9, Nitrous Oxide Abatement Project

Type: N2O avoidance from nitric acid production

Location: Yazoo City, Mississippi

Description: Nitric acid is used to create many types of other chemicals. It's used in various applications, like dying maple and pine wood to make it look aged. Unfortunately, one byproduct of creating it is nitrous oxide (N20) which is a highly potent greenhouse gas. N2O is about 300 times worse than carbon dioxide. Usually it's vented into the atmosphere as it has no economic value, but projects such as this capture and reduce those emissions.

More information: All project documents

Total Income & Expenses

The following shows all income and expense up until April 30, 2021: