For Ecologically Sensitive Americans, a Way to Pay the Way out of Global Warming Guilt

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For Ecologically Sensitive Americans, a Way to Pay the Way out of Global Warming Guilt

December 13, 2006 — By Terence Chea, Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO -- Jill Cody used to feel guilty whenever she drove her car or flew on an airplane. She worried about pumping heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and contributing to global warming.

But the San Jose professor found a way to ease her conscience. She paid a San Francisco company called TerraPass to offset emissions from her car and air travel by investing in wind power and reducing farm pollution.

"I'm part of the solution, not the problem," said Cody, who sports a TerraPass decal on the decade-old Lexus she drives about 6,000 miles (9,600 kilometers) a year. "Now I don't feel guilty when I drive my car."

As anxiety over global climate change rises, a growing number of companies and nonprofit groups are offering eco-conscious consumers a chance to compensate the planet for the carbon emissions they generate when they drive, fly, use electricity or heat their homes.

So-called "carbon offsets" are becoming increasingly popular, but critics say they are just a way to assuage consumer guilt and do little to combat climate change. At worst, they can encourage consumption by preventing people from making carbon-cutting lifestyle changes, such as driving less, taking public transit and using less electricity.

"We're still in a buyer-beware situation where people have to be careful and ask some questions," said Mark Trexler, president of Portland, Oregon-based Trexler Climate and Energy Services. "The key question is _ is your money helping to make something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen?"