A. We're Brett and Jessica Ramsey, and we're people who not only want to make a difference ourselves but help others make a difference as well.

 

Q. What is this all about?

 

     A. Our goals here are two-fold. Our main goal is to educate people about what is happening to the environment and what we can all do to help. Our secondary goal is to sell t-shirts, so that we can buy "Green Tags," which are units of renewable energy.

 

Q. What are carbon offsets and why should I care about them?

 

     A. When we drive, fly, heat our homes, or even charge our cell phones, we emit carbon into the air. Yes, some things emit more carbon than others, but the point is we all contribute unnecessary carbon into the atmosphere every day. At our current rates, we will experience droughts, animal species becoming extinct, and possibly a rising of the oceans. Carbon offsets are programs that either do things to offset the carbon directly, such as planting trees so that the trees will take in the carbon dioxide and provide oxygen in return, or provide funding for renewable types of energy, like solar, wind, and hydroelectric.

 

Q. Why t-shirts?

 

     A. Well, why not? Basically, we thought it would be an effective means to reaching the solution, which is buying the carbon offsets. We like wearing t-shirts, we see lots of other people wearing t-shirts everywhere we go. We figured it made sense. Hopefully, we'll turn out to be right. If not, is your company currently accepting applications?

 

Q. Where does my money go?

 

     A. Some of it goes to pay for the shirts, some to us for administrative costs, and the rest to the Bonneville Environmental Foundation to purchase Green Tags. Basically, we have created a staggered donations system. As we sell more shirts, we will donate a higher percentage of our profits to buy Green Tags with the goal of eventually donating all profits to this charity. Yep, we won't even pay ourselves a salary. That's how much this means to us.

 

Q. What else can I do to help?

 

     A. You can drive less, use less water, change your light bulbs, turn off things when not in use, recycle, and the list goes on and on. We have several great links with even more recommendations and ideas in our "Additional Resources" section, so be sure to check those out. I know you may be thinking, "I've heard all this before, and I'm just one person. It won't even matter if I do any of this stuff." My only response is that's the attitude that's gotten us where we are today, it has to change, and It Starts With Me.

 

 

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