Questioning Carbon Offsets...

As everyone knows, greenhouse gases are causing Earth’s climate to change and warm, which will have catastrophic results if we do not take action now. Although the US is only 4.5 percent of the world's population, it's responsible for 25 percent of global greenhouse emissions. So as Americans, we are more responsible for reducing these emissions than other world citizens.

The concept of “offsetting carbon” lets you underwrite activities that actively reduce global CO2 emissions, thereby balancing out your personal emissions. Typically, there are four ways that they do this: 1) Carbon offsets support renewable energy projects in solar, wind and biofuel technology. 2) they promote energy efficiency in housing, lighting, heating, etc... 3) They sequester carbon using the natural photsynthesis of trees and the preservation of endangered green spaces. 4) They buy up carbon credits on the global market so that companies that are legally required to reduce their emissions are forced to do so.

In other words, because some enlightened nations have actually signed the Kyoto protocol, they are legally bound to reduce their carbon emissions by certain dates. Companies that aren’t able to meet these Kyoto emissions targets can still pollute, as long as they buy the surplus carbon credits that less-polluting companies are offering on the carbon market. But if all the carbon credits have been bought by individuals, then the companies won't be able to offset their pollution, and they'll have to develop new emissions-reduction strategies.

Some of the best offset copmanies combine poverty reduction with climate protection. For example, a 4.5 megawatt biomass power project in Malavalli, India, produces electricity with agricultural waste that used to be burned off or just left on the fields to decay. The project created 500 new fulltime jobs. And despite the ick factor, Terrapass sequesters methane—another greenhouse gas-- from dairy farms by capturing its release from manure and making fuel out of it.

Critics have likened carbon offsets to a papal indulgence, and one British parody website, Cheat Neutral likens carbon offsets to trying to deny an extramarital affair. If you just buy enough fidelity credits, they snarkily advocate, then you can cheat on your partner until the (methane-burping) cows come home. But despite its drawbacks, carbon offsetting is making a real difference in funding clean energy projects that might not have gotten off the ground otherwise.

So check them out yourself: the leaders in the field include the aforementioned Terra Pass, Live Neutral, and NativeEnergy, which is a Native American-owned company that develops farmer-owned, nonprofit renewable energy projects. Across the pond, Germany's AtmosFair, Oxford-based Climate Care and the Dutch GreenSeat are doing the most brisk business among the dozens of offsetting companies.