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Carlton Bartels Date of Birth: September 9, 1957 Department: CO2E Position: Partner, CF Death is nothing at all I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other that we are still. Call me by my old familiar name, Speak to me in the easy way which you always used Put no difference into your tone; Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together. Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. Let my name be ever the household word it always was Let it be spoken without effect, Without the ghost of a shadow on it. Life means all that it ever meant. It is the same as it ever was; There is absolutely unbroken continuity. I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner. All is well. Canon Henry Scott This was given to me by my sister-in-law, Sandy Rainbow, not long after Sept. 11th. Carl-my love-you are, as you have always been to me, the light from the one hundred brightest stars.
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Tributes
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Dear Jane & Family –
One word that I think desribes Carlton is: Eager. Eager to help, learn, teach, listen, broaden horizons, live life to the fullest. His eagerness was encouraging and enlightening.
Carlton’s energy and efforts inspire me today. I was there when EBS started. It is amazing how vast it has become, due to his eagerness and brilliance.
I was working with Carlton when your first daughter was born–the sparkle in his eyes is unforgettable. His love for you, and devotion to his family was obvious to all.
All of these wonderful attributes are clear in the memories I have. Your family remains in my prayers.
Love & Peace,
Joy (Prevosti) Millen
It is nearly eight months after that terrible day in September. Each day Sandy and I look out at the void across the harbor and think about what is lost and missing in our lives. Fortunately, we can also see Jane and Melina and Eva’s home and that reminds us of what we still have left of Carl. If nothing else, Carl’s death and all those who died on September 11th has helped to focus us on what is really important in life..family, friends and thinking about others. And while I miss my brother terribly, I am more pained by the loss of what we would have, SHOULD have, shared as we grew older.
Carl was always looking at the Big Picture, in business and life. Until people stop killing each other, for whatever the perceived cause, the big picture looks pretty bleak. Take a look at that gentle smile and remember to do something to make the world a better place.
Gary
Carl was a nucleus.
A year would go by and my orbit would wander too far from the Vermont friends of old.
Then a call would come; “Hey, let’s all get together!”
Fission averted once again. Nucleus to the rescue.
Happy to say, I thanked Carl last spring for playing that role. He smiled broadly and gave me a big hug. (Could have been the wine!)
I’ve spent some time these last 9 months with Jane, Richie, Beth, and a few of Carl’s business associates. I feel I know him better today than I did on September 10th.
That’s my biggest regret.
Smile the day this soul was born, for there were a lot of good things headed for the earth in that one package…
Kindness, generosity, integrity and love,
even a little humor…
All the things a person would need to make a good life.
And Heaven is rejoicing now, welcoming that soul back home…
dusting off the suffering, throwing out the shortcomings, polishing up those same good qualities in preparation for the day we all meet once again.
Jane, I think of you, Carl, Melina and Eva each and every day.
Love you!
Lisa
AS FATHERS DAY APPROACHES AND OUR HEARTS GROW YET EVEN HEAVIER FOR JANE, MELINA AND EVA, WE MUST THINK OF HOW VERY BLESSED THAT THE GIRLS ARE TO HAVE HAD SUCH A SPECIAL DAD. THE MORE TIME GOES BY, THE MORE YOU ARE MISSED CARL.
I interviewed Carlton and all other heads of business units during 2000 when Cantor was planning a website that would capture the energy and expertise of each business unit. I then worked with him and his team to write up descriptions of the various trading areas he managed. I didn’t know him well but his way of merging intelligence about his work with humor and a sense of perspective was refreshing. And his respect for his team – once he decided it might not be a waste of his time to talk with me, he opened his group to me. Instead of playing “boss”, he sent me to each specialist, asked me to interview them directly, trusted them to give me the information we needed. And then, after I sent him the drafts, he edited them very carefully – managing quality and accuracy while fully supporting his team’s creativity. The Taoist quote about the best leaders describes Carlton’s management style: “The worst leaders, the people fear. The next best, they praise. But when the work of the best leaders is done, the people say ‘We did it ourselves'”
I’ve been trying to get on here for a month but apparently my cookies at work are incompatible with this site. So I’m now at a mutual friend’s house, the friend I originally met Carl through. Her internet connection is deathly slow, and my dogs are waiting at home, hungry, but I’m psyched to finally see this page, and am looking forward to reading the entries and adding a full-length contribution of my own.
But what I’d like to say is this – it seems like whenever I muse back on some ridiculous thing I did in the past – some amazingly fun time I had doing something stupid or wonderful or absurd, I was doing it with Carl. I don’t have a lot of stories to tell, like some folks do; my brain just doesn’t store things in the story format. But the few stories I do have – the good ones that I share with people – all seem to have Carl in them somehow. Thanks for the memories, buddy.
Nearly a quarter century has elapsed since last we were together, but I remember Carl as if it were just a moment passed. He was, during our time at Stony Brook, the brightest light, the flame we all warmed near. His keen observations, his dry-rapier like wit, his charm and his off-beat take on all we were experiencing was one of the highlights of my college years, and I feel honored and fortunate to have shared a few years of his life at a time when we were young and foolish and all avenues and dreams seemed open and acheiveable. I am shocked at how severely and intensely I feel his passing. My the depths of my heart and soul I send love and thoughts and prayers to his wife and daughters, whose lives, I am certain, have been forever enriched and blessed by having been his partner and his children. Carl was always full of love and patience and kindess. Our world has lost a true prince, and we will all be forever lessened by his absence.
You are remembered and mourned, old friend, by far more of us than you could ever know….
Arthur Tanney
I met Carl when I was about 9. I am horored that the universe loaned you to me adding such a bright star to the constellation of converastion, for however far apart we are, your considerate voice stays with me, enlightening my thinking. I wish I could give you a small package of whatever I know that is worth knowing to take with you wherever you go. I wish you would call me from time to time and tell the part of me that is you, where your part of the conversation is going. I miss you very much and am looking out for your girls – our girls. Love always.
We knew each other for a mere few seconds of a lifetime. We laughed & partied & I gained a new friend. A friendship I came to value a lot. You were a rare person; Beautiful inside & out; always a joy to be around. GOD had Blessed me with your friendship….I will never forget you.
GOD Bless You, Jane & the family.
What can I say Carl?
Actions speak louder than words anyway. You were there for me; unexpected, uncalled for.
We rolled the dice and gave up our comfortable lives to bet that together we could change the world. You earned the respect of your peers across the globe; you earned my respect, never freely given. We sat on the beach and drew pathways for the future; friendship and family, challenge and competition.
One year on, and I still feel angry. Angry for the theft of your future. The theft of a father, husband and friend. The theft of a wisdom, spirit and intellect that could truly move the earth. Anger to rage at the sky and to build our shared vision, piece by piece.
I have two families now. I am here for you.
There are too many funny, happy and fond stories to tell about Carlton which I’d be happy to share but after a lot of thought I need to tell just one…
It was almost a year ago, I came into my office at the Kennedy School of Government early, as is my custom, logged into my computer and went out for my morning run around the Charles River. There was the most enormous star/planet beaming low in the sky over southeast of the city and I remember feeling a sense of unease rather than awe at its intensity. I spent much of my run thinking about a dear old friend from years past whom I had recently read about in an article on corbon emmissions and, fascinated and impressed by the work he had been doing, had gone on line to read more about what he had been up to. I had his email address from the site and had been thinking about dashing off a note to say hi, etc. but had put it off. I’d get busy with work, with my children’s activities, etc…. and didn’t do it. Well…the morning of my story, the morning of the star, I kept thinking about this friend and when I got back to the office and had showered, I sat down at my desk and started to write. It was exactly then that there was a great commotion in the Kennedy School halls…the first plane had just hit in NY….and I knew That I had waited too long.
What would my note have said, had I finished it…something simply like:
Dear Carlton, Its been a long long time! I’ve been reading about you and am not surprised that you’ve been doing the type of important and fascinating work that you have made your life’s focus. I see that you have two daughters…I have two children too, my daughter is 8 1/2 and my son is 5 1/2. Isn’t parenthood GREAT!! You look happy in your pictures. We have lots to catch up on so give me a call next time you’re in town. By the way, I’m ‘wicked’ proud of you!
‘Ches’
There are people in our lives that are more precious than words can ever convey. We move on past them but we are never without them because they truely live within us.
When I talk to my children about 9/11, the events and beliefs and conflicts in the world that led up to it and continue after, I know that they,along with Melina and Eva and all the other incredible children out there, can and will make a difference….just like their parents, perhaps gone but not lost, before them.
God bless.
mel
Dear Carl:
I sit here looking out the window at the blue, blue sky, exactly as I did almost one year ago, staring out in shock, but hoping, believing, that soon I’d be hearing your voice. I miss you very much.
Because your life force was so strong, I feel it everyday. Your laughter still resonates. I replay your jokes (or were they really Bruce’s?) in my head. Every time I’m in Vermont, or looking out at beautiful mountains, I see your face. When I took off after Melina, as she barreled down a ski slope at full speed not knowing how to stop, and not caring that she didn’t, I knew you were there.
When I recognize a quirk or eccentricity in a person I’m with, I think of how much you appreciated those things that make us all different and interesting. Most of all, I always loved how you put your complete being into everything you did, whether it was work, fun, being a father, a husband, or a good, good friend.
I’m grateful for the time we spent together over the last 20 years, the many New Year’s Eves with you and Jane and our other friends, the weddings, the strolls around the block pushing baby carriages, the camping trips, the dinners in New York, the debates (ok, arguments) about whether the sun sets directly west, or just off to the side…so many moments that were simple joys, that have such poignancy now. My life was made better from knowing you.
Carlton was a pioneer who left his legacy in the living development of emissions cap-and-trading as a way of helping us to save the planet from ourselves. By his contribution to our Chatham House conference on emissions trading, he helped to bring the idea to Europe and to give it a credibility and warmth that helped it to take root in initially hostile soil.
Carlton was my friend and business partner. He brought me to Cantor. He and I dreamed, then built a business that became, and still is, the envy of the industry.
Carlton was also my confidant. It was from him that I would get perspective and advice. And, Carl unfailingly insisted as my boss, then advocated as my friend, the adherence to ethical business principles.
The thing that my wife Kathy likes to remember most about Carl is his smile. When he smiled, you couldn’t help but smile in response. His smile lit up his face, at once endearing with a hint at how much he loved life and his family. That is how we will remember Carl – with a smile on his face. And, after wiping away a tear, we’ll smile back.
I ache at Carl’s loss. Though I cannot make sense of what happened, I can incorporate Carl’s qualities into everything that I do … at work and at home. His sense of fair play, competitive spirit, ethical business practices, vision, sense of humor, and his love of family. These are Carl’s qualities that I will take with me into the future. In this way, Carl will live on in my heart and the hearts of those that knew him.
Carlton and Steve gave me my dream.
Carlton inspired me, taught me, led me, made me laugh and made me very proud. He was my President and CEO – witty, charismatic, smart, creative. And he agreed with me! He was passionate about emissions trading. We never had the discussions I was so looking forward to – to find out his motivations and his thought processes. How he’d got to where he was.
I was so fortunate to meet him – and I have the ongoing privilege of being part of his heritage. We’re building on his ideas and experience. He’d love some of the things that we do – and I’d love to be able to tell him about them.
Last September our team shattered. We’re working to take Carlton, Adam and John’s dream forward. I miss them so much.
I met Carlton in person only once. But he made a huge impact on my life. We met at Windows on the World in the summer of 2001. I was searching for people who could help me change the world, to make a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future. Everyone insisted that I must talk with Carlton. In 1.5 hours we came up with enough ideas to chart a course that will eventually shake the “business as usual” thinking of the narrow-minded.
We e-mailed every few days until the towers fell.
He was truly an enlightened thinker and even short-term collaboration with him was a growing, positive experience. I cried/cry for him, his family, but also for the world’s loss.
I never even spoke to Carlton Bartels, but he influenced my life. A few years ago, I decided I wanted to do something that brought business and the environment together. I did not know what until I read a newspaper article that quoted Carlton as saying “I’ve done more on this side [as an emissions broker] than I did in 10 years of arguing as a regulator at an NGO.” This quote, which I still have, encapsulated just what I was looking for. I did not contact Carlton, however, because I was nervous about being unqualified to work in the field. After September 11th, I contacted CO2e.com and I have been working hard ever since to prepare myself for a career in emissions trading. I hope that soon I will be able to contribute to creating the environmental markets and products that Carlton envisioned.
Carlton led the world to believe in carbon emissions trading. I remember meeting him first in the early 1990’s and being privileged to work with his CO2e.com team for a client. He had a presence, a vision and the confident leadership abilities to show others how to bring to life a dream that many could not imagine or enact. He brought humor amd levity to our field. I remember him laughing in June 2001 that he looked at his Environmental Finance (magazine) picture and decided he needed a shave and hair cut. So I am glad to see the familiar bearded face smiling out on this site.
To his family, may all the blessings of his love and laughter be with you forever.
Almost a year later I can say that not one day has passed when I haven’t thought of Carlton, Jane and the girls and thanked God for my good fortune in knowing them. Carlton was the most successful person I have ever met, both personally and professionally.
His vision and creative business sense provided a platform for those who worked with him to express their strengths. He insisted on a work atmosphere where we strove for our best but always had a great time doing it. His love of life was evident in every aspect of his life. He loved his work, but was always happiest headed to the ferry home to his girls. They were the reason he worked so hard to improve our environment in a manner that didn’t break the back of our economy. He felt an acute responsibility to his family for generations to come. Our world lost a tireless advocate. His family lost a guiding light. I lost a beautiful friend and mentor.
I miss him terribly, but I celebrate his influence on my life. I know he is watching over us sending encouragement through his beaming smile.
I interviewed Carlton before he was killed. He helped me understand greenhouse-gas trading and its potential to create demand for conservation.
“A cleverly designed trading program will allow large companies to reach out to smaller ones and buy reductions,” he told me. “People in all sorts of industries [will think], ‘How can I decrease these emissions and sell them? How can I change this process and make … money doing it?’”
“A trading system in a greenhouse-gas constrained world develops an entire service sector for the country which is focused on nothing but making this country more energy efficient.”
— Jim Hight, Environmental Business Journal
I got to know Carlton over the years we both worked in the Carbon game. He was a great guy to talk to, and a fund of ideas, but he was also more than that in a rather special way.
Fixing global warming is probably the biggest problem facing us as a society today and our children tomorrow. Carlton had the privilege of being one of the real pioneers in the field, and of having made a contribution to the future welfare of humanity that most people can only dream about.
In the years to come, when future generations look back on how it all started, his children will be able to point proudly to the environment around them and say – “My daddy helped save that”
My Hero
My uncle will always be my hero, because he helped stop pollution. He also survived getting hit by lightning. He survived the bombing of the twin towers and was very good at tennis. He was one of my very favorite friends. He also helped me with my tennis strokes. Goodbye.
Love PJ
Uncle Carl was a great uncle. I miss him a lot. I thought he would escape but he didn’t. I’m very sad now when I think about him. I loved him very, very, very much. He was the best uncle I could have.
Isabella Bartels
9/11/2002
Carlton was an inspiration. We met when he joined the Tellus Institute, an energy research firm where I had my first job. He loved to tell stories of the many journeys that he and Jane had taken. To that point in my life, no one had told me that successful, sane professionals could drop out of society, travel the globe, and then resume their regularly scheduled lives – a lesson I have taken to heart. Carlton also taught me a great deal about energy, business, and regulation. But perhaps my favorite memory from those years was a spirited, Strunk-and-White-waving debate about whether to include a comma in my name.
A few years later, Carlton invited me to help design tradeable permit auctions for the newly formed EBS. I was honored that he thought I could help him. Over several years of consulting, it was a pleasure to watch EBS grow, to learn about the then-little-known Cantor Fitzgerald, and, most of all, to see Carlton’s expanding vision for emissions trading. With his humor, enthusiasm, and insight, Carlton was the perfect person to execute that vision.
More than most, Carlton demonstrated the possibilities of a life well-lived. Thank you, Carlton, for your inspiration.
My most prominent memory of Carl is of him walking out of an important meeting in Australia to make sure he spoke to his wife and children via telephone before they went to bed. That said everything to me about his priorities.
As to my perceptions of the man, I knew him as an intelligent humorist, a realist and yet a dreamer, a shrewd businessman, but, foremost, a family man.
I truly miss the plotting, the trans-pacific midnight phone calls and the constant laughter.
We must all be resolute and draw strength from the enduring memory of a friend.
I have many fond and lasting memories of Carlton during his time in Boston. Often we’d troop down to Chinatown for lunch. Always to the same walk-up second floor eatery where a dozen different vendors hawked their dishes. He knew each one, which had the best curry or hot and sour soup, and he always ended up steering us to his favorite, the barbequed chicken on soft noodles. We’d relive his legendary Asian travels and share the usual office gripes. Although we more rarely crossed paths at the office itself, it was always fun and entertaining when we did. His clear ambition to seek out new challenges would always shine through. He would always spice up the most mundane task. When he left Tellus a decade ago, few of us doubted that he would find his way to great success. And he sure did. I raise my rice bowl in your honor, Carlton.
Carlton’s spirit, his warmth and dedication and perseverence, are a wonderful legacy to so many of us he once knew.
I only met Carlton a couple of times – there are lots of people that I have met only a few times, that I have long forgotten and am unlikely to ever think of again. But that was not the case with Carlton. Once met, one could not help but be attracted to this generous, affable, fun loving man. The launch of CO2e.com was pure Bartels.
I think the reading you have in Carlton’s memory is so apt. He would be so proud of his family for choosing something so strong and with such connectivity. It is, from what little I knew of him, exactly the message that he would have wished to to place there in his memory.
Be proud and gain strength from the messages of tribute and affection from people who knew him and you well. But accept mine too, from a person who would have liked to know him more.
I met Carlton in 1993 as we conducted a GAO study of SO2 allowances trading for Congress. Carlton provided a wealth of information, measurably improving our report’s quality. In the summer of 1997, we were asked to help arrange a hearing on market-incentive approaches for the Joint Economic Committee. I immediately thought of Carlton as an expert witness. Carlton’s testimony at that hearing was masterful. You can still see what he had to say at http://www.house.gov/jec/hearings/emission/bartels.htm#endnotes. Carlton lives on! chuck bausell
Carl,
Dee and I often reminisce about out time with you and Jane over Memorial Day last year. We credit you with much of the sizzle that occurred in our mini “Big Chill” reunion. You were the Pied Piper of Primrose Hill that weekend. Whilst others were still crashed, recovering from jet lag (yeah right), we set out on a tour of the neighborhood. Yet true to your fashion, it turned out to be a hearty pub crawl. What keen direction you had, especially when there was great food and drink in the offing.
There was always a bonus when any one of us was with you Carl — whether it was a story about a bizarre adventure in a foreign land, or with the funky food you always ordered. You were a good sharer of the fruits of life.
Looking back, what struck me about that afternoon was that even though we soaked up our share of local color, all conversations led back to our respective nests and the unique balance that we strive to achieve in the whirlwind we call life.
Never in our imaginations did we think our world would rid your nest of the passion you built by straw and stick. We are lost for answers, yet find solace in the strong foundation you left for Jane, Melina and Eva.
To you Jane, you know all too well the richness of Carl’s life, his wealth immeasurable. He possessed this magnificent jewel, a vast equilibrium and center of the soul that reached out and did what was best for family, friendship and fortune. This sense of balance, it seems, makes Carl’s spirit so admirable, so desirous to emulate. In light of the unrest and tragedy, it is our hope that through his life’s example, his legacy will prevail in all he touched for generations to come.
With love and friendship forever.
In reading the messages from others I am brought into the life and spirit of man I only knew briefly. My too short relationship with Carlton, however, was full of the insatiable humour, ethic, and enthusiasm we all knew about him.
The carbon community certainly misses his inspiration and insight. But not nearly as much as we miss him as the man he was. Both aspects live in in the business he left behind, CO2e.com, and the family he loved so much.
Carlton was magnetic. He inspired not only his team but those who read about him or talked to him. He encouraged the best in people.
He was so very generous with his patience, his market knowledge, his humour and his creativity. He was good with words. Those T-shirt slogans kept on coming…A reduction is a reduction is a reduction…mind the gap…and so they went on.
I came across an old e-mail the other week where I was checking his availability at a press event – his one line response was “I will be there and I am always happy to speak.” It’s true – he was always willing to give his work time to promote his vision and passions.
He was well respected globally. Always in demand on the speaker circuit, from journalists wishing to hold interviews or write articles on his views and experience of emissions trading.
He always had photos of Jane, Melina and Eva to hand in his wallet to show whenever asked. He always had his family photo right by his computer at his desk. He used to make sure trans-atlantic/pacific conference calls didn’t interrupt story-telling time.
To launch CO2e he asked for “fireworks” – he certainly got it. For me – fireworks sum up the impact he had on life. Those fireworks he lit will continue on – they won’t stop.
The thing I remember most about Carlton is that he often spoke to me through a wide grin. He was a friendly man, a person you were glad to run into during a stressful day. He somehow lifted your spirits with a casual shrug or light hearted comment. I had great work experiences with Carlton, but two experiences outside the office stand out for me. First, in Boston – he’d lead a bevy of happy lunch-bound Tellusians to a strange unmarked second floor Chinatown eatery jammed with local patrons, where one would visit one booth for noodles, another for an entree, another for a soda, and then we’d sit in a central cafeteria of tables enjoying our lunch. On my first visit, I was baffled by the enormity of the place, the vastness of the possibilities and the limits of a one hour lunch – and Carlton led me fearlessly through the booths and back to a table. Relief!
The second memory is later: Carlton and I both left Boston for New York at about the same time. When the WTC was bombed in 1993 he called me to tell me that he was fine and that I should come up to his office to see the big crack in the back of his office and have some Chinese for lunch. I could never be sure if he was kidding about that crack, because I never took him up on the offer. How I wish now that I had. I think that was the last time I spoke to him.
Jane – we’ve never met, but I often think of you and your girls and wish you comfort.
Over the brief few years that I occassionally spent time with Carl and Jane, (mostly at parties) it was apparent that he had a deep love for his family, close ties with his comrades, and a romantic, friendship with Jane that all partners wish for. Carl was an intelligent conversationalist who could go from a deep discussion on the environment one minute, to a wild-dancing, life of the party the next. Thank you for your spirit!
Carlton,
Your children and wife, the rest of your family, as well as your personal friends and colleagues should remember you not only as the Carlton they knew, but as one of the pioneers behind the establishment of market instruments to combat pollution and climate change globally. Extremely knowledgeable and foresighted, you have had the rare ability to communicate your knowledge in a humorous, often metaphorical way that has made it possible for the rest of us to understand.
Our interview with Carlton – http://www.pointcarbon.com/article_view.php?id=1474 – illustrates how bright and foresighted he was. It also shows that a company on the other part of the world actually called Carlton, and nobody else but him, to get answers about how the carbon market would develop.
We sincerely hope – and strongly believe – that Cantor Fitzgerald, and CO2e.com in particular, will be able to continue what you have initiated, and wish them the best of luck in their efforts.
Kristian Tangen, Atle Chr. Christiansen and Jorund Buen, Partners, Point Carbon
Carlton-
I’ve just returned from a Keewaydin reunion, and while I was there I read the log you wrote for me and the other campers about our trip to Algonquin park in 1979. It brought back wonderful memories. It also reminded me how much I appreciate my days at camp, and how much a part of those days you were. Thank you.
“And now before we close our eyes in sleep,
Help us pledge each other that we’ll keep
Keewaydin’s friendships strong and deep
Till we meet again.”
I arrived at the camp after traveling for two days from South America. Up a mountain I went and finally arrived at a cabin. Went in, and Carlton helped me with how to find my materials for the bed. So thanks to him, I had a place to sleep and later how to get food.
His death causes sadness in me. For his wife, his children, his family, friends, an even those who saw him at summer camps.
To him and his memory, I quote the spanish saying:
“Paz en su tumba, y, honor a su memoria”.
Jorge Menocal, Jr.
In the two years since September 11, 2001, I’ve carried with me so many of the words said about Carlton at his memorial service in Staten Island. I know it’s not much comfort, but I’ve often thought about what family and friends said about his way of plunging into the joy of life, experiencing the planet fully while he was here, inviting friends to abundance.
I did not know Carlton Bartels but my family has been friends with his wife’s family for years. Our parents still get together on a regular basis and relay updates on us “kids” and our families. I think they secretly want to re-unite the “kids” so that the third generation of our families could meet. We heard, with shock and concern, about the Bartels through our parents. At the time I did not know what to say or do. That changed yesterday on the second anniversary of 9/11.
Yesterday morning I watched CNN for 5 or 10 minutes while getting ready for work. I saw children, relatives of victims, reading the names of all those who perisished. One little girl in particular caught my attention. From the on-screen banner, I saw that she was the same age as my own daughter. I could tell that she understood the gravity of the event. I could see her determination not to let her own grief intrude on her solemn duty. I was impressed that a person so young could be so poised.
The little girl finished her reading with the words “… my daddy, Carlton Bartels …”. I took me a few minutes to realize that this was your daughter. I don’t know why I happened to turn on CNN during the few minutes she was on but I am glad I did. I did not know Carlton … but I am a father of an 8-year-old girl. I know that yesterday he looked down and saw his daughter standing in front of the whole world shining with grace and dignity. I am honestly inspired by her example.
Jane, you must be very proud of your daughters and you should be proud of the job that you are doing with them.
Beth, take care of your sister and your nieces …. but teach them to return blankets…;-)
Carlton was unforgettable because of his enthusiasm, commitment, honesty, values, joie de vivre, intelligence and wit. He was an influence for good in so many ways. I never had a conversation with him that didn’t make me feel better–about the subject under discussion, about the world in general and about myself.
He was very serious about his work and was a pioneer in the field of emissions trading. His contribution toward the protection of nature was significant.
In business meetings, Carlton joined his great sense of humor with great incisiveness. He got right to the point with complete honesty in such a way that no one was ever insulted. In fact, after a discussion with Carlton, everyone always left smiling.
Jane and family,
I met you and Carlton over ten years ago when I first entered the emission markets. Carlton was a mentor, friend and inspiration to my career. His warm smile is what I remember the most. We talked several times a week and traded visits between his office and mine in Greensburg, PA. I still carry his business card to this day. He will always remain in my memories.
Carl Lazear
This morning marks the 5 year anniversary of that morning.
I spent part of my day calling some old friends who are connected in special ways by that morning. Though we talk many times each year about business and the like, we talk on this day about our friendship and about those we miss. I talked with Steve Drummond, a friend made more dear because of that morning, and I know the edge in his voice because I have heard it each year for the last 5 years. We are all slowly recovering.
I just read the many tributes to Carlton and, clearly, we all experienced the same wonderful human being. I miss him. He is unforgetable. I just really, really liked him. My business partner and I still refer to a conversation in a taxi ride we took across town with Carlton when we try and teach others about the future of emissions trading.
My hope would be to have one tenth of the impact on people when I leave that Carlon clearly had. Since you’re in the next room, buddy, I’ll see you soon enough and we can catch up then.
“It could have been me, but instead it was you…
“So I’ll keep doing the work you were doing as if we were two…”*
(Except I’m not one-tenth as good, or effective, or broad-minded, or rigorous a thinker…) Carlton, it’s been five years, and we in the “carbon community” feel your inspiration so keenly. When Kyoto finally entered into force, we felt you were there with us raising a glass. Now the global carbon market is really up and running. We remain inspired by your wonderful ability and willingness to explain it to anyone and everyone. Your vision lives on.
We miss you.
Annie Petsonk & your friends at EDF
*Song by Holly Near
It is December 29, 2006, and I am cleaning files at work. I came across a letter Mr. Bartels wrote to our office (U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns (FL-06)) March 24, 1998, providing information on the SO2 Emissions Trading Market. I know of the devastation at Cantor Fitzgerald; amongst your slain employees was a college classmate of mine, Christopher Lunder (don’t see a tribute page to him?). So, I looked up Mr. Bartel’s name on this site, unfortunately confirming my fear that he might be so listed. Well, while I did not know Mr. Bartel I just want his family and friends to know that even years later, a fellow American thought of him today, and still feels sorrow and rage at this stolen life. Lauren Semeniuk
I do not remember the exact year I met Carlton, but he was definitely a valuable part of my Summer Camp experience. The things I learned from his wonderful presence in our lives included respecting others and their views, compassion, openness and the practical application of the keewaydin motto “help the other fellow”.
Everytime 911 comes up I eagerly share his story and I know it touches the hearts of the people listening as they see my watering eyes. I feel his passion for life and his emotional bond to his fellow man live on in the sharing of his story.
All of us who knew Carlton are blessed to have such a wonderful person in our lives. He will live on in our memories because of his actions and deeds that he dedicated his life to.
Hello Carlton and relatives. It is now 5,5 years ago but still feels as a huge theft from a warm person, as one of your collaegues describes it above. Today, I am asked to present on the future of cap-and-trade at a conference for an organisation in The Netherlands, where I work and live, that gave their first CO2 Conference in 1999. At that conference you and me presented to the EU the perspectives from the US on cap-and-trade. I will ask the organisation to pay a tribute to Carlton. Suprisingly, these days, I help, with my friends of Environmental Defense to bring back to the US the experience of the EU with CO2 cap-and-trade. Time to bring back what you gave us! And dear relatives, I remember the many nice evenings we had in Bonn Germany AFTER the meetings on climate change, being amongst many nice friends, including a very warm, nice man, Carlton. Warm Regards.
Jane, Eva, Melina,
I’m remembering Carl’s laugh — infectious, encouraging, encompassing — hearing it as I write. You know this story, but I’m telling you again: Richie and I drove up from NY to meet a group of college friends and you and Carl at a state forest in southern VT. We arrived late, hiked in the dark, sat down in the dark when we realized we were utterly lost, both of us probably thinking about a night in the woods without shelter. In the heavy silence between us, we heard a crack of laughter. It was Carl’s laugh. We heard it again, and on the signal of Carl’s laugh we were able to guide ourselves the remaining distance to the leanto, where everyone waited. Carl was the reason we found our way. He was the beacon that night, as on so many others.
In enduring gratitude…
Happy Birthday Carl! Today is your 50th, we’re playing Bowie for you! We are still celebrating your life. Jane is an amazing mother as you well know. Melina and Eva are incredible children. Once again, Cheers, Carl!
We love and miss you, and will never forget you.
Love Peter,Alyson and Maya
September 9, 2007
Dear Carl,
I want to thank you for giving me the two greatest gifts you had to give – our daughters, Melina and Eva. Their big and beautiful and living lives filled with love, laughter and hope. I love you and miss you every day.
Happy 50th birthday, sweetheart! Jane
Dear Jane, Melina and Eva:
I read today all the tributes to Carl and spent time looking at his picture on this site. When I think of Carl I always see his grin, wide smile and hear his voice. I loved the way he used to say my name, it was always so playful and fun.
I spent time with Carl in Vermont, Boston, Manhattan and of course Staten Island. I don’t have one specific story to share. I just remember I always looked forward to being in his company. He was a warm, kind man who always lived in the moment. I loved hearing about all his travel adventures, he was the only person I knew who liked to sweat when he ate.
I miss him.
Love,
Jeanne
Carl, you’d be fifty today, which is remarkable since you were always ageless to me. I understand that you were some kind of star in the world of doing well by doing good, but to me you had a perpetual adolescence to you–the kind where you were always on the look out for the best one liner. I guess that’s why that grin you have on this Cantorfamililes web site picture is the proof that, by the time we lost you, your frowning muscles had atrophied.
If it’s true that the measure of a person’s time on this earth is the quality of the people he left behind, then you were one of the greats. I managed to catch sight of both the girls at Songa this summer. You would be so pleased to see how happy, strong, and comfortable they were in that setting you held so dear. Amy spent time with Jane at Mid Season, and reported she continues to radiate the humor and energy you both shared with all of us.
Thanks for being there and I’m still so sad that I can’t see your face today as it reacts to my making fun of your age while we share a drink and toast your 50th. I’ll have to pretend you smirk, and snap back some remark about my ever spreading bald spot.
Dear Jane, Melina and Eva:
I read today all the amazing tributes to Carl and spent time looking at his picture on this site. When I think of Carl I always see his grin, wide smile and hear his voice. I loved the way he used to same my name, it was always so playful and fun. I spent time with Carl in Vermont, Boston, Manhattan and of course Staten Island. I don’t have one specific story to share. I just remember I was always looked forward to seeing him. He was a warm, kind man who lived in the moment. I loved hearing about all his travels, he was the only person I knew who liked to sweat when he ate.
I miss him.
Love,
Jeanne
On the occasion of what would have been Carl’s 50th, I would like to tell Eva and Melina about what was, to me, perhaps their Dad’s greatest talent. Carl was second to none at changing a diaper.
I mean this in all sincerity. It made an impression.
By the time Carl and Jane had kids, I’d been a dad for years and had ample opportunity to observe a bunch of friends and relatives deal with infants. Most dads I’d observed (myself included), handled the less glamorous chores of parenting with all the comfort of a vegan in a butcher shop. Not so Carl. Whether changing a diaper or wiping up puke, Carl appeared to be having a good time and the smile never left his face!
Now, all dads love the fun stuff; but cleaning up??? How is that fun? Somehow, Carl found the joy in that.
Maybe it was as simple as being well-trained by Jane. Maybe it was because it was vacation or a weekend. Or maybe, just maybe, it was love for his kids, and Carl’s ability to find joy in just about anything.
On the occasion of what would have been Carl’s 50th, I would like to tell Eva and Melina about what was, to me, perhaps their Dad’s greatest talent. Carl was second to none at changing a diaper.
I mean this in all sincerity. It made an impression.
By the time Carl and Jane had kids, I’d been a dad for years and had ample opportunity to observe a bunch of friends and relatives deal with infants. Most dads I’d observed (myself included), handled the less glamorous chores of parenting with all the comfort of a vegan in a butcher shop. Not so Carl. Whether changing a diaper or wiping up puke, Carl appeared to be having a good time and the smile never left his face!
Now, all dads love the fun stuff; but cleaning up??? How is that fun? Somehow, Carl found the joy in that.
Maybe it was as simple as being well-trained by Jane. Maybe it was because it was vacation or a weekend. Or maybe, just maybe, it was love for his kids, and Carl’s ability to find joy in just about anything.
Dear Eva and Melina:
When your Mom asked me to write a note to honor your Dad’s 50th Birthday I didn’t know where to begin. We met while Jane and I were at St. Mikes. I just remember Carl having the coolest kitchen(no guy I knew hung his pots). When he would saunter into Sneakers with Dick and Bruce, 5 minutes before we stopped serving some may have minded but not me because I knew the Frexinet corks would be popping and the fun just beginning.
I think of Carl often when I’m on the beach. One day while visiting in Mass. we went to horsefly beach. The flies were really biting so I brought my chair down to the water hoping for some relief. All of a sudden I had seagulls wildly swooping down on me and I jumped up screaming and there is Carl running away after dumping a bag of potato chips behind my chair. Everyone on the beach was laughing so hard even me because who could ever be mad at Carl.
One day at their infamous all day, all night parties(most came and went I just came and stayed) I said to Carl, “so really what do you do?” His answer was a tad complicated but I came up with “Ah you sell air.” He replied close enough and changed the subject to the Talking Heads. Much more my speed. Carl always made you feel good about yourself.
Carl, Happy Birthday So wish you were here. I miss your smile,your laughter,your whimsical ways and your crazy shirts. You live on in Jane and Evie and Melina and I can always find you there.
Love Rose
I wish we were celebrating Carlton’s birthday like we did 6 years ago. I would make extra pitchers of my special Bloody Marys (I was really proud that Carl, who knew from a good drink, gave them his seal of approval!); I would make sure that the pear tart was perfect this time; we would have much more extravagant gifts; we would laugh longer and harder and really take in the smells and feel of the end of summer-early fall on our little backyard deck; and although I treasure that last minute, casual, intimate, little birthday party’s memories, we would invite hundreds of your friends and admirers who must feel so cheated…Robert and Clara and I miss Carl, and that time, and send all of our love to you, Jane, and Melina and Eva
with my love, Janet
Jane, Melina and Eva,
No history of Carl would be complete without the following story:
Carl and I had finished a long day of fishing on the Swift River in Massachusetts. As usual I had caught many trout throughout the day and Carl caught his usual eclectic collection of bottom feeders (carp and white suckers). How Carl could consistently catch these fish in waters teaming with trout is still one of life’s great mysteries. (He always insisted it was because of the flies I gave him!)
We left the river just as it was getting dark and started driving back to Boston. We grabbed a quick bite and were making our way back along Route 9 en route to the Mass Pike, when a possum ambled onto the road. As we rapidly approached the creature, I yelled instinctively “Hit the f….r!”, but Carl, ever the humanitarian and lover of life, decided to swerve to avoid maiming the little marsupial.
The swerve caused a series of events that I will never forget. First, one of the front tires blew out. Not a good thing for the front wheel drive Honda Prelude! This in turn started a series of skids heading down Route 9 at speeds of between 50 and 70 mph. Time appeared to slow down as it usually does in these types of situations, and Carl and I began a very civil conversation on the state of the universe, noting that we would very likely not be part of it for much longer! We continued to skid our way down the road, moving from one side of the road to the other avoiding God knows how many other cars and hazards.
Well, after skidding down the road for what seemed like 10 minutes (and in retrospect having been back to where this happened for about ½ a mile), things actually got more serious. The road’s pitch suddenly resulted in us being propelled across someone’s yard, and we were heading at speed directly towards a 5-6 foot wide oak tree! I remember saying to Carl that this is going to hurt and we are going to bleed. I don’t think Carl said anything, but the next thing I remember is that he miraculously manipulated the Prelude around the tree. Good news, but unfortunately, this put us on a direct path to the living room of the house attached to the yard! We were closing in on the house rapidly, when Carl managed to turn the car 180 degrees. The car stopped in the house’s driveway facing back toward route 9. The car had stalled, and I will never forget Carl’s first reaction. He tried to start the car and leave the scene. Two tires, however, were now flat and the car was going nowhere. We just sat there laughing with relief, unhurt and happy to be alive!
The people in the house came out to see what had happened. They too were pleased that they did not end up with a Prelude in their living room, and were graciously accepting of the fact that we had torn up the majority of their front yard. They helped us get a tow truck and we managed to get the car repaired and make our way back to Boston, laughing and having a good time, as if none of this had happened.
I have very little doubt that Carl’s quick reactions on that day saved both of our lives. Of course if he had hit the possum (as I had suggested), none of this would have happened.
Carl and Jane left Boston shortly after this happened. I continued to fish the Swift River at least a few times each year for the next 10 years. As I passed the house with the oak tree, I always slowed down to observe the lawn damage we did that day. After about 6 years the damage could barely be discerned.
Now I am sitting here, six years to the day that Carl died. Luckily my memories of him, our friendship, and time we spent together are as rich as ever. Carl, my friend, I miss you.
Bruce Nelson, Friend
Ron Reich said above that he felt he got to know Carl better after 9/11 through the many stories told. I feel similarly, and it saddens me that I did not spend more time with him. Still, he made an indelible impression. I remember the first time I met Carl, after he moved to Vermont. I went to his apartment with Richie, and I was struck with the sensation that this person is so interesting: the enthusiasm and depth with which he spoke about so many things, his sense of humor, his purposefulness even at that tender age. Carl stood out; he always did.
When I first encountered Carl, I was a camper and he was on the staff, and, like many other campers, I was awed by this hunk of a man who would take on any challenge. Later, when we were living in the Boston area at the same time, I saw his gentler, more intellectual side. He took me to artsy films, I think because I was the only one who would go to these frequently indecipherable productions. One film we saw, however, remains my favorite of all time: “Wings of Desire,” in which an angel falls in love with a mortal, longs to experience humanity as fully as possible, and finally tumbles, fully human, into this world. Carl was as curious, gentle, and life-embracing as that newborn angel. My mother-in-law was somewhat perplexed by this man who, at my wedding, took a table decoration, wrapped it around his head, and danced all over the floor, free of all inhibitions, like some spirit-infused prehistorical tribesman. That was Carlton, my wife Katie and I explained, the happiest man on earth. He was on this earth for too short a time, but he made more of that time than even a fallen angel would. Happy birthday, Carl.
Ron Reich said above that he felt he got to know Carl better after 9/11 through the many stories told. I feel similarly, and it saddens me that I did not spend more time with him. Still, he made an indelible impression. I vividly recall the first time I met Carl, after he moved to Vermont. I went to his apartment with Richie and was struck with the sensation that this person is so interesting: the enthusiasm and depth with which he spoke of so many things, his sense of humor, his purposefulness even at that tender age. Carl stood out; he always did.
Carl, my brother, I miss those omelets you used to make on the weekends that looked like something you scrape off the bottom of the lawnmower. I think about sitting in Sneakers with you ordering Guiness for breakfast having just returned from Jamaica in January. 87 to 17 degrees. We were brown brown brown. You and Dickie playing “Burning Down The House” loud enough on Maple Street to rattle things in my car parked in the driveway. Your swagger. Those trips to the gym with the special prep and the “recovery phase.” Kafka as part of a typical conversation. The trips to Doctor Shah’s restaurant for the hottest relish known to man. I think of you as the man and the boy all functioning at once–coming home in the trenchcoat and tie with the tale of another lawyer whose feet were held to the fire and a couple hours later dancing that Bartels boogie that scared the s–t out of most and charmed the ones that mattered. My brother Carl sat backwards before the movie started to make everyone fidget and talked loudly about “how this relates to Ahab’s turmoil…” Carl you are a presence in my world and my heart and I know you are listening. Jane, it may sound strange but I think of you as a lucky person. We were blessed with his presence and you most of all. The girls will always know their Dad as a legend whose influence changed the arc of so many lives. I miss you my old friend. Happy Birthday. We will have to celebrate it later so save up. much love, Bruce
When I first encountered Carl, I was a camper and he was on the staff, and, like many other campers, I was awed by this hunk of a man who would take on any challenge. Later, when we were living in the Boston area at the same time, I saw his gentler, more intellectual side. He took me to artsy films, most of which were indecipherable. One movie we saw, however, remains my favorite of all time: “Wings of Desire,” in which an angel falls in love with a mortal, longs to experience humanity as fully as possible, and finally tumbles, fully human, into this world. Carl was as curious, gentle, and life-embracing as that newborn angel. My mother-in-law was somewhat perplexed by this man who, at my wedding, took a table decoration, wrapped it around his head, and danced all over the floor, free of all inhibitions, like some spirit-infused prehistorical tribesman. That was Carlton, my wife Katie and I explained, the happiest man on earth. He was on this earth for too short a time, but he made more of that time than even a fallen angel would. Happy birthday, Carl.
9/11/07
Carl,
In 6 years my feelings have not changed a drop. I love you as much as always, which is as deep as I miss you. The world, from the tiny circle of our family, to the huge circle of the environment, is a poorer place for your absence. But what always helps, is to remember how much you loved to be happy. What a 50th we would have celebrated!
Always,
Sandy
Hi Carl
I have just taken a week out, combining friends and work and family – the three things that triangulated your boundless enthusiasm for life. I can’t quite believe it, but it’s exactly eight years since you and I sat on Freshwater beach – business suits and toes in the sand – and decided to launch a new future.
It’s been a wild ride since then Carl. It took longer than we thought, but it seems like the world is becoming ready to share our vision. The USA is waking up to climate change, CantorCO2e is now a truly global reality and we have everything to play for. Most importantly Carl, those that you worked with, and those that you loved, are looking forwards now, not backwards.
It would have been very different had you been here. For one thing, it would have been a lot more fun, that’s for sure. I can’t help wondering how you would have shaped America’s awakening to climate change – for surely you would have shaped it – and how much better the world would be because of it. In losing you, we lost more than a friend, father, party animal, visionary. You would have helped to bring a sustainable future for all of us a little bit closer than it is today.
So what are we doing that you would have been excited by? The business is growing fast and demonstrating its financial potential. We are launching Social Carbon on an unsuspecting world and are working with CARE to use carbon finance to improve the lot of some of the planet’s disadvantaged communities. We are working on sustainable cities in China and Africa and have helped to sow the seeds for a new university for sustainability in East Africa. We are working on new technologies for ethanol and bio-diesel. We are helping, every day, to create the possibility of a sustainable future.
So, Carl, those four powerpoint slides have travelled quite a long way so far, though really the journey is just beginning. CanrorCO2e, your two beautiful daughters, and the memories in all our hearts of all the laughter that you made, are a legacy to be proud of.
Cheers, my friend!
Steve
So much reporting and converage of the 10th anniversary. It’s 9/9/11 and just wanted to say I’m thinking of you on your birthday.
Dear Jane,
10 yrs have gone by so quickly, and I know you are missing Carlton. Please know that I am praying for you and your family especially this weekend.
First time I saw Carl, he was reading a dangerously prohibited book on corruption in Indonesia (where throats are cut for less than that) wrapped in a magazine cover for discretion… Then you stepped out of your bungalow, and a new overseas friendship was born.
Jane ! It’s been a while since you and I became expert Balinese dancers in that funky restaurant where we found shelter from the pouring tropical rain… it was your birthday 1987, Bali. So much has happened since, so much! That fondue in Gruyères on a hot summer day (so un-swiss:), my raft-trip through the jungle with Carl feeding on iguana eggs in Costa rica, too many great memories now come back for too little space.
Loucha and Carl left us way too early. Life is sometimes so unfair. And hardly ever easy. But then it’s also filled with beauty and fabulous rewards. Friendship is one of them, possibly the best of them all, and I feel it flowing through the lines I just read.
As I remember him, Carl probably found some crazy way to have a ball up there, and got the others to join in the laugher. Making the best of it, I trust him for that.
Carl & you were both very, very bright stars – and I have no doubt Melina and Eva shine magnificently, despite the tragedy, despite the pains in life, with the wonderful mother you are.
I hope you’re happy.
Love,
Janou
Very dear Jane & Family,
My deepest respect and love to you, and Carl.
With the greatest memories of your warm care when you opened your home and office to me back in 1995, as I flew in NYC from Central America.
Mirko