I'm blogging about a blog that was blogged. So it's not new stuff here but it is interesting. The concept is about labeling products that we buy in grocery stores with their carbon footprint. So not only can people look at the nutritional label but they can also know how much it is in terms of its carbon. Although I can see the benefits of this I also think that it just provides one more headache for the public. Unless the public knows what that number means, people cannot make an informed decision. Ingredients lists are still Greek to me (an above average educated person) and adding one more criteria for us to choose from might not have the desired effect. That leads me to my next question...what is the desired effect of putting how much CO2 is "produced" from a bag of chips? A marketing gimmick? How did the company calculate that? What are the standards used to determine that? How can a consumer compared between name brands? Does it include the CO2 cost of transporting it to the store? What about the disposal of the bag after? Although potentially a good idea, this might turn consumers away from its intended path by overwhelming them. Why not just try to lower the production footprint instead? Will knowing how much CO2 is produced by a bag of chips really stop someone from buying it? As a consumer and a member of one of the worst polluting countries (in terms of CO2 emissions) I think not. This might be my pessimistic attitude but I really think the ignorant masses don't give a rat's @ss. Even if someone does care, as a lay person what comparative information is out there to put it into terms that he or she can understand.

Wait. I was actually happy about this when I first started this blog and now I think it is not as great of an idea.