Relieve Your Carbon Guilt

Posted on Jul 26, 2007

mass.gov

Want to fight global warming but just can’t live without air conditioning? The U.S. Forest Service has a solution. By purchasing “carbon offsets,” individuals can now make up for their environmental damage in the American way: Just put it on the card, and let someone plant a tree for you.

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Los Angeles Times:

For years, companies have been allowed to compensate for greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing “carbon offsets”—vouchers for investment in alternative energy sources, tree-planting and other projects that can mitigate global warming.

Now the idea is spreading to individuals, with the Forest Service’s announcement Wednesday that it will be the first federal agency to offer personal carbon offsets through an initiative called the Carbon Capital Fund.

“We came up with the idea because everyone is looking at what they can do in terms of climate change,” said Bill Possiel, president of the National Forest Foundation, a nonprofit partner of the Forest Service. “The money goes to a restricted fund for projects on national forests.”

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