BY GRAHAM AVERILL

Carbon offsets are only feeding the underlying problem in this country: overconsumption. Americans are looking to buy our way out of a situation without actually having to make any of the sacrifices in our day-to-day lives that would actually reduce carbon emissions.

This is one of the stupidest things I do: When I go to work, I leave the TV on for my dog. I even turn it to the Animal Planet channel. Never mind the fact that I’m burning fossil fuels like a NASCAR driver redlining at Talladega-I don’t want my dog to feel lonely. Some other stupid things I do? I hoard PVC-laden backpacks like fat kids covet candy bars. I also drive my car to work…a lot, even though I could easily walk or ride my bike. And I’m addicted to climate control. My air conditioning runs from April to November. Then the heat kicks in.

I’m probably not the only one guilty of such eco-sins. The average American contributes a whopping 21 tons of greenhouse gases to global warming every year. The rest of the world’s population averages about four tons a year per person. Why the vast discrepancy? We consume. It’s what we Americans do, and it’s led us into an environmental crisis so disconcerting, even the Republican Party is talking about environmental responsibility. Americans are finally aware of global warming and we’re looking for a way out.

Enter carbon offsets, a uniquely American solution to a global problem.

The principle behind carbon offsets is simple: You assess the carbon emissions you produce, then pay a third-party company a certain dollar amount to mitigate those emissions. The money supports a variety of programs, from planting trees to investing in wind farm technology, but the result is the same: carbon neutrality. You can offset a flight to L.A., your heating bill, your wedding, or every detail of your daily life. Going carbon neutral is a hot concept at the moment, being pushed by over 60 offset companies that sold $110 million worth of offsets to Americans and Europeans last year. Everyone from presidential candidates to soccer moms are going carbon neutral. It’s the new higher state of consciousness, a fresh new state of nirvana for our eco-savvy world-except carbon neutrality is so much easier to reach than nirvana. Forget meditating. All you have to do to be carbon neutral is write a check.

Paying cash to alleviate our environmental sins has led many to compare carbon offsetting to the controversial papal indulgencies of the 15th century, when the church offered a similar service for its wealthy flock of sinners. Simply pay a set price, and your conscience is clear. Feel free to carry on with your tree-killing, polluting ways…as long as your check clears. The socio-economic problems with offsets are obvious (carbon neutrality through the purse strings leaves the world’s poor out of the loop) but it’s only the tip of the melting iceberg.

There’s no governing body regulating these offset organizations, a fact that has resulted in some individuals paying for emission reductions that never actually took place. Meanwhile, some carbon offset providers fund tree planting projects, which is a beautifully symbolic gesture, but inefficient when it comes to actually offsetting carbon. There’s no way to measure exactly how much carbon a single tree sucks up, and the saplings planted today won’t actually successfully absorb carbon for years. In the meantime, the emissions from your cross-country flight that you’re offsetting are still heating up the planet. Other companies have funded projects that would have taken place anyway. Terrapass, a for-profit offset company, has reportedly funded methane production plants and compact fluorescent bulb campaigns that would have been built without their funds, making the offsets they sold to the American public completely unnecessary.

“The world of carbon offsets is an invisible product, so it needs a lot of safeguards in the form of certifications and regulations,” explains Joelle Novey, a researcher for Co-Op America, a non-profit that uses economic strategies to solve environmental problems.

The offset industry is moving toward those safeguards, which will provide the consumer with a measure of security. But no amount of regulations will address the fundamental flaw with the carbon offset phenomenon, which is the simple fact that we cannot buy our way out of the global warming predicament. Offsetting the fumes from our lawn mower doesn’t actually remove those gases from the atmosphere. At best, offsetting your carbon today may reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the future, though exactly when that reduction will take place and how effective it will be is anyone’s guess. Meanwhile, the world’s population is scheduled to produce two trillion tons of carbon dioxide over the next 50 years. That’s a whole bunch of greenhouse gases that simply will not cease if people think they can write a check to make it all better.

If anything, carbon offsets only feed the underlying problem in this country: over-consumption. China may be building too many coal-fired power plants, Brazil is cutting down the rain forest, but Americans are simply consuming too much. We drive more, we fly more, we eat more, we watch more TV, and collect more things. Now, with the option of carbon offsets (yet another product we can charge on the plastic), we’re free to keep consuming-as if the rising temperatures are nothing our air conditioner can’t fix. Can’t decide between the SUV and the two-door coupe? Get the SUV and offset the difference. Americans are looking to buy our way out of a situation without actually having to make any of the sacrifices in our day-to-day lives that would actually reduce carbon emissions.

We want to do the right thing and mend the environmental damage we’re responsible for; we just don’t want to actually change our lives to make that mend. That’s why carbon offsets are such an attractive solution to the American public. It’s easy, and it at least makes us feel good about ourselves.

Novey thinks I’m being too hard on the newfound offset market. “Obviously, it’s better to reduce consumption first, but the offset process encourages people into further reducing their emissions,” she says. “When they go through the carbon counting process, they become more aware of their own impact.”

I’d like to think that Americans would offset only after reducing their personal emissions. But the realist in me can’t help but think carbon neutrality is the greatest form of greenwashing this country has ever seen. Take Ford’s new "Target Neutral" campaign: When you buy a Ford car, you have the option of offsetting that car’s carbon emissions. Sounds great, but take a closer look and you’ll see the cracks in the veneer. First, Ford is passing the cost of carbon neutrality on to their customers. Meanwhile, Ford refuses to improve the fuel efficiency of their fleet and continues to lobby aggressively against any increase in corporate average fuel efficiency. The company has even recently backed out of their pledge to produce 250,000 hybrids per year by 2010. Regardless, Ford benefits from the good P.R. that the “Target Neutral” campaign brings them, enabling the company to carry on with business as usual as if the only downside of global warming is a wicked sunburn. Oh, but they’re eco-friendly. Just look at the flashy commercial.

Am I being too tough on carbon offsets? Probably. After all, offsets are most likely a step in the right direction, and there are some smart, foresighted reasons to seek carbon neutrality through offset programs (see sidebar). I just can’t help but think we’d be doing the world a better service if we simply turned off the TV when we left the house rather than paying offsets so our dogs can watch Animal Planet. •

Offset Options

Want a good reason to go carbon neutral through offsets? Try this: “Offsets build a constituency of people who are taking action on global warming,” Novey says. “If we’re going to have a low carbon future, we have to invest in an alternative infrastructure. Offsets provide an avenue for that investment. Broadly speaking, if lots of people buy offsets that support wind projects, there won’t be as much demand for coal fired energy in the future.”

Many alternative energy projects lack the capital they need to get the ball rolling, so carbon offsetting can be a good way to help finance wind farms and solar sites. After you’ve reduced your carbon footprint as much as humanly possible, look into offsetting, but be cautious. Avoid tree planting projects for the aforementioned reasons and look for offset programs that support specific projects that jive with your principles and your ideas for a sustainable future.

Here are a couple of proven offset companies that Co-Op America recommends looking into:

Native Energy: This company is majority owned by Native Americans and many of their projects include tribe-owned wind farms, so your money packs social benefits as well as environmental benefits. You can also choose your source of offsetting by funding either wind or methane energy.

The Climate Trust: The largest offset provider for regulated business also offers individual offsets. Your money can go to a number of innovative projects, from wind energy to truck stop electrification to forest preservation.