CARBON CONSUMER REPORTS, FIRST DRAFT

Carbon Neutrality: A Shopper's Guide
December 17, 2006 (Boston Globe)
No one is truly carbon neutral -- even the most environmentally conscious among us has to exhale…Here are a few ways you can shrink your carbon footprint (though whether that will reduce overall emissions is an open question):

- Customers can now buy offsets for the carbon dioxide emissions released by air travel (the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases) when they buy their tickets on the travel websites Expedia and Travelocity…the nonprofit Conservation Fund, puts the money toward preserving forests…
- Many companies and nonprofits offer offsets for cars. Native Energy, for example, which funds only Native American-owned renewable energy projects, allows customers to offset the emissions of a particular car trip, or simply pay to offset a car's estimated emissions over the course of a year of driving ($36 for a hybrid, $96 for an SUV)…
- Many sites also offer the option of offsetting an individual's entire "carbon footprint." For $99, Carbonfund.org offers a "zero carbon" option, an offset not only for a year's worth of fossil fuel combustion…all of the emissions…
- Starting this spring, the company Bright Planet will offer a credit card that rewards carriers with offsets based on how much they spend. Apply for it before the next holiday season and shop your way to carbon neutrality.