Do carbon offsets really cook with gas, or just evaporate into thin air?

January 4, 2006 3:05 PM

Dang, those new year's resolutions... For the first time, I'm tempted to buy emissions "offsets" for my car in order to support the research and development of cleaner energy choices. Is this a good idea, or would I be wasting my money?

Sure, offsets aren't very expensive, but I always want my charitable spending to be used effectively, so I'm seeking some advice... I've heard of TerraPass, and have also considered Better World Club's offsets (mostly because I need to renew my roadside assistance soon) -- are there others? Since neither of these are non-profit orgs, I'm wondering if there are any offset "watchdog" organizations, or even any generally-accepted practices for designating funds obtained from offset sales.

Gentle guidance: I'm looking for thumbs-up or thumbs-down info specifically on offsets, so you don't have to remind me that there's a myriad of other ways to contribute. I already donate to established nonprofit organizations -- ones whose track record I can research, esp. via sites like CharityNavigator and Give.org. And I'm planning to sign up for green power from my electric utility when the option becomes available.

posted by skyboy to travel & transportation (4 comments total)

There's a list of companies selling offsets here. Near the bottom, under the heading 'Carbon Offset Options'
posted by matthewr at 3:30 PM on January 4, 2006

CarbonFund.org are a non-profit carbon offset organisation. A chunk of your donation will still go on overheads, but at least it won't be going to shareholders, as with TerraPass etc.

However, you say you want to "support the research and development of cleaner energy choices". All the carbon offset schemes I've found seem to use the money on building windfarms and biomass - both of which are small beer in the whole scheme of things. Ideally you want to donate toward research of new technology, like the development of a mass-market hybrid car. This kind of research is done by people like Daimler-Benz, GM, major universities etc so options for individual contributions are pretty scarce.
posted by matthewr at 3:52 PM on January 4, 2006

Attempting to follow your gentle guidance:

This would not be the most efficient use of your charitable giving, but it if it makes you feel good and it increases the total quantity of charitable giving by you and those who know you, then go for it. (Basically it's a marketing gimick and not something that could sustainably support current human behavior.)

Please don't let this response decrease your enthusiasm for supporting climate-change related causes.
posted by alms at 5:09 PM on January 4, 2006

(I was hoping for more, but I guess that's about all I'm gonna get right now.) I'll have to mull it over some more, but it seems that I'm leaning towards other forms of advocacy. Thanks for the advice... and especially for the Suzuki Foundation link, matthewr.
posted by skyboy at 4:34 PM on January 11, 2006