I don't know what Al Gore drinks (he never answered my email), but we're as concerned about Global Warming as he is. In fact, I started working on the issue as a Research Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic in 1984. It is real and the impacts are already being felt in a hundred places around the globe, from the altered peaks above our farmers in Colombia to the slowly inundated islands of Vanuatu in the South Pacific.
We are working on a program to become a fully carbon neutral company by the end of the year. More about that later. Right now, we are launching a new coffee and concept, NoCO2, to fight Global Warming one cup at a time, and to show our customers that we both contribute to the problem by simple acts every day and that we can also address the issue with simple acts.
We calculated the total carbon load generated by a pound of coffee, from growing, harvesting and processing, to shipping roasting, shipping to you and brewing your coffee at home. This took a long time and required help from Trees for the Future, UPS, World Resources Institute and Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (thanks to all!). Seventeen pounds of coffee generates about fifty pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere. We also found that one hardwood in the Tropics of Coffee sequesters about fifty pounds of CO2 annually. So we have devised a program to plant one tree in Pangoa Cooperative for every 17 pounds of NoCO2 Peruvian coffee consumed by you, our loyal customers. This is not a joke or a clever, meaningless marketing ploy. It is a real attempt to take our responsibility seriously, and help consumers take theirs seriously as well.
We have begun the project with the Ashaninkas indigenous farmers of Pangoa, whose land was denuded by illegal logging in the 1980's. They have chosen the species, tornillo, which grows about fifty feet tall over time and provides shade, critical migratory bird habitat, and when properly managed provides "social security for our grandchildren" in the form of a harvestable forest product, according to Esperanza Castillo, the manager of Pangoa.
So drink up, me hearties, yo-ho! Oops, wrong persona! NoCO2 will be available on the web in the medium roast section. Give it a try and see if this hot coffee can help cool the planet.
