Article
Tradewater
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How we are preventing millions of tons of harmful emissions from reaching the atmosphere – permanently
Do you ever wish you could just intercept greenhouse gases before they impact our environment? Well, at Tradewater, that’s literally how we are fighting the climate crisis, by collecting, controlling, and destroying greenhouse gases before they leak into the atmosphere. We are all about making an immediate climate impact, and we are doing just that by focusing on preventing potent non-CO2 greenhouse gases, like old refrigerants and halons (a fire suppressant), from entering the atmosphere.
But how do we do it?
First, we work to identify and collect harmful non-CO2 gases like old refrigerants and halons that, if left unchecked, would seep into the atmosphere, worsening the climate crisis. Both gases are ozone depleting substances (ODS), as well as extremely potent greenhouse gases, with a global warming potential (GWP) of up to 10,900 times carbon dioxide. The old refrigerants we collect were once broadly used in air conditioning systems for cars, refrigerators, rooftop cooling units, and in large building chillers. Halons are a non-water-based fire suppressant that has been historically used in data centers and airplanes. While these chemicals were banned from production by the Montreal Protocol in 1987, they are still in use and broadly distributed around the world.
Once we have secured the climate-unfriendly gases, we destroy them. The gases that we collect are destroyed in highly regulated incinerators with continuous monitoring equipment to ensure that our operation meets strict international, federal, and local environmental regulations. People often ask us what does “strict” mean? Most importantly, it’s the requirement that at least 99.99% of the refrigerant is destroyed. Additionally, all our work is reviewed by third-party verifiers through a rigorous auditing process to confirm that we have followed these rules. Once we have met all the requirements, we are issued high-quality carbon offset credits that represent the impact of preventing these harmful emissions.
Unless we collect and destroy these harmful refrigerants and other potent gases, they will eventually leak into the atmosphere, since there is still no mandate for their end-of-life management. It is estimated that there is the equivalent of 9 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the form of these old refrigerant gases alone still in existence and scattered around the globe. Halons represent an additional 300 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent remaining around the world.
Since Tradewater’s founding in 2016, we have collected and destroyed over 5,786,000 tons of CO2e, and we are on a path to prevent the emission of 3 million tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere annually. Our work is growing quickly. Tradewater’s projects now span four continents with the hope of expanding further to help collect, control and destroy not only old refrigerants and halons, but also other potent non-CO2 gases that are essential in preventing catastrophic climate change, which is often overlooked in the climate conversation.
Tradewater identifies, collects, and destroys the most potent greenhouse gases ever made before they are released into the atmosphere. As we look forward, this is what we have accomplished so far in our fight against the climate crisis.
Do you like our mission? You can help us permanently destroy more harmful refrigerant and halon gases from entering the atmosphere by buying Tradewater carbon offsets. Creating a better world for all of us begins with eliminating these harmful emissions that threaten our environment and accelerate climate change. The Tradewater carbon offset facilitates our work and provides people with the transparency and verification that the environmental action they are supporting is being carried out.
We look forward to sharing more about our story and mission with the We Don’t Have Time community. What should we talk about in our next post? Tell us your suggestions in the comments section. Or, do you know of an organization that wants to responsibly manage any old refrigerant or halon gases that they might have in their operations? Contact us here in the comments, and let’s talk!
To learn more about how Tradewater is fighting the climate crisis, visit our website. And, if you’re interested in purchasing a Tradewater Carbon Offset or calculating the carbon footprint of your lifestyle, business, event, or travel, you can use this link.
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102 w
Great and incredible work you are doing.
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102 w
Congrats for the tremendous work towards climate change.
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112 w
Keep up the good work you are doing
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113 w
Definitely, a company aimed at preserving the environment and combating the adverse effects of climate change.
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117 w
A great contribution towards climate change.
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117 w
Burning fuel is the number one thing that is sickening the entire planet and all of its inhabitants, we no longer need to burn things we have rooftop/parking lot sunshine, the wind, geothermal and ocean energy which can also be used to power machines and transportation
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117 w
Fantastic path you have taken. Keep it up!
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117 w
Very interesting, what type of industries do you mostly work with? And what would be the process of destroying these gases?
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106 w
@sarah_chabane that is exactly what I was wondering. The science behind destroying these gases.
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117 w
Good to know about you.
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117 w
9 billion tons in leftover refrigerant gases?! That's an eye-opener! Thanks for all the incredible work you do!