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How carbon offsets work - image from Carbon Fund

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Carbon Fund’s slogan is “reduce what you can, offset what you can’t.”

Sounds good, right?

But what about those people (most people?) who opt for carbon offsets merely to ease their guilt because they have never lifted a finger to reduce their ecologically destructive footprint?

Or – even worse – what if people buy carbon offsets so they can feel good about polluting more?  “I’m gone all day but I like to leave the AC on so it’s cool when I get back in the evening. Don’t worry – I offset my carbon footprint.” Or, “Honey, let’s each drive both our cars to the store even though we could carpool, just because we both enjoy driving so much!” You get the idea.

Entire companies are perniciously profiting from carbon offsets. Some don’t even follow through with their promises! Shameful.

And certain companies with laudable intentions are picking up on this:

In 2002 Responsible Travel became one of the first travel companies to offer customers the option of buying so-called carbon offsets to counter the planet-warming emissions generated by their airline flights.

But last month Responsible Travel canceled the program, saying that while it might help travelers feel virtuous, it was not helping to reduce global emissions. In fact, company officials said, it might even encourage some people to travel or consume more.

Examples of ecologically irresponsible behavior that irk me:

• Leaving the water on while washing dishes or brushing one’s teeth
• Turning the AC on but leaving the windows open
• Opening the fridge and keeping the door open for 5 minutes while deciding on what to eat
• Printing documents for no good reason
• Taking 20-minute showers
• Setting the AC at ludicrously low temperatures in the summer (or, in places like South Florida, almost all year long)
• Foregoing recycling because it’s time-consuming or inconvenient
• Foregoing reusing because new things are “nicer,” the latest trend, or debatably less work to just purchase new items
• Using the dishwasher, washer, or dryer when nearly empty

And wouldn’t you be much more likely to keep these habits up if you were offsetting your carbon footprint? And wouldn’t it make a lot more sense to offset and modify your absolutely changeable habits?

At the same time…

Back to Carbon Fund’s slogan – “reduce what you can, offset what you can’t” – it is completely possible, or even likely, that many people will choose to reduce, reuse, recycle, and offset.

But, really, how many individuals do you know who are that devoted? Who are already making significant efforts to greenify (it’s a word!) their lifestyle? Are you?

Greenifying ourselves will require changing what we:

• Eat (going vegan and buying locally)
• Wear (no more leather, suede, vinyl, and so on; giving up clothes, shoes, cosmetics, and more manufactured with toxic chemicals; using biodegradable sunscreen at the beach; etc.)
• Buy (opting for biodegradable cleaning products and paint, furniture, boycotting everything disposable and manufactured abroad, etc.)
• How we travel (bike, walk, jog, carpool, travel less, vacation closer to home, etc.)

And, naturally, many more aspects of our lives.

It won’t be easy – but isn’t it our only choice?

Read more about the downside of carbon offsets here and here.

P.S. Find other companies that offer carbon offsets here and here.

So far, TRU Organic Spirits has planted 50,052 trees as of March 2009 along as a result of its “one tree per bottle” method. The products are completely certified USDA organic and consist of infused vodkas and gins. Mmm…

Each planted tree, TRU says, removes 500 lbs. of CO2 from the atmosphere per year and later 1800 lbs. per year when the trees mature. Apparently, that’s the equivalent of two months of average driving (1800 lbs. of CO2). Not bad at all.

“To make sure those trees have maximal impact, we work with organizations such as Sustainable Harvest International, in tropical zones, because those are the most environmentally sensitive areas suffering rampant deforestation,” they say.

Volunteer for Sustainable Harvest International's Cacao Campaign

So, how do we know TRU is legitimate? The company has been issued a certificate by Sustainable Harvest International (SHI).  Sounds good. With this certificate in tow, it’s easier to believe TRU when they claim that they are 760 times carbon negative (!), they maintain clean farmland and groundwater, and use recycled and recyclable lightweight bottles, among other laudable practices. Independent organizations evaluate these claims. Read more here.

Speaking of which, SHI organizes Smaller World Tours–you can take a vacation to volunteer in Central America to fight poverty and deforestation.  SHI has tours coming up in Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama and several of their tours coming up in the next few months are already filled up! Awesome.

Another thing you can do through SHI is intern in Central America through their Field Programs. There’s still room to apply for summer 2009. Check it here. The information is also available in Spanish.