Trading carbon for green

Despite skyrocketing oil prices and ever-increasing airfares, we seem to be traveling more than ever. With environmental issues like carbon footprints and peak oil saturating the media, it seems that travel has its price -- and not just in dollars, but also in ecological guilt.

Plenty of travel agents and airlines are now offering consumers carbon offsets when they purchase flights as a way for individuals to shoulder some of the environmental burden (and assuage their carbon guilt), and many other companies are selling offsets directly to the public.

Carbon offsets essentially let you, the road-tripping, jet-setting consumer, pay someone else to reduce their carbon output in order to balance your own. It may sound like passing the buck, but for many of us, those hours on the road or in the air are unavoidable, and many believe that paying someone else to be responsible is better than doing nothing.

Offset projects typically fall into a few categories: renewable energy (investing in wind, solar, and biomass energy production), energy efficiency (improving the energy consumption of individuals and industries), and biological sequestration (purchasing land to preserve it from deforestation or changing land-use or forestry practices to minimize long-term environmental impact).

Critics complain that some projects have less impact than others (or even a negative impact on the environment), and consumer advocates note that not all companies and organizations selling offsets are the selfless, earth-loving environmentalists you might expect.

While some are non-profit organizations, others are decidedly for-profit corporations, with money fattening company coffers as much as it goes to windmills and tree-planting. As with any purchase, if you choose to buy a ticket to greener travel, it's always wise to do your research.

Luckily, you've got plenty of help at your fingertips.


Suggested sites:

• Voluntary Carbon Offset Information Portal - evaluates companies offering consumer offsets for travel, plus a good overview of how offsets work.
• How Carbon Offsets Work - an easy introduction for carbon-neutrality newbies.
• Carbon Trade Watch - these environmentalists are skeptical of the ecological value of carbon offsets. Read more in their PDF, "The Carbon Neutral Myth."
• Do Carbon Offsets Live up to Their Promise? - a closer look at the value of offset projects.