As I mentioned in Introduction to Carbon Credits, there are lots of different ways to offset your carbon dioxide emissions and even get paid for them. Although more and more companies are offsetting their emissions and committing to carbon dioxide reductions by joining the Chicago Climate Exchange or the California Climate Action Registry, I’m going to focus on some tools that individuals can use to offset their carbon dioxide emissions.

A quick refresher: A “carbon offset” or “carbon credit” is an emission reduction from a project that results in less carbon dioxide or other global warming pollution in the atmosphere than would otherwise occur. Offsets are normally measured in tons, and are bought and sold through brokers and traders.

There is a lot of discussion surrounding carbon credits and a lot of different opinions. For example, some do not count wind power as a carbon offset for reasons such as wind is intermittent or because many wind projects would happen regardless of the carbon credits purhcased, so the projects are not additional renewable power. This latter concept is called "additionality." But some organizations do count wind power as an offset, such as a nonprofit foundation called the Gold Standard. This organization gives something like an official stamp of approval for carbon credits and is used by 42 nongovernmental organizations around the world and a number of governments.

There is also debate on whether tree planting and forestry projects are true carbon offsets. The David Suzuki Foundation of Canada specifically excludes tree planting from their definition of a carbon offset, arguing that trees are not permanent solutions to carbon dioxide pollution and do not address the fundamental problem of our over-reliance on fossil fuels. But the United Nation Development Programme does count forestry projects as a carbon offset.

You'll have to decide for yourself whether trees or wind power makes sense as carbon offsets. But once you have that figured out, take a look at some of the sites that I checked out for offsetting a year's worth of carbon emissions. I searched several sites that include a variety of projects – wind power and forestry included. Some sites that I found informational and easy to navigate include:

• An Inconvenient Truth’s “Calculate your impact” calculator that determines your annual CO2 emissions and then takes you to Native Energy, which allows you to choose the type of project you want to use to offset your carbon emissions.
• Carbon Counter makes it very easy to calculate your carbon emissions and then buy offsets.

Can’t offset a whole year? How about offsetting your cross country road trip instead or your flight overseas. Here are some handy sites I found:

• The Carbon Neutral Company is a UK site where you can calculate your emissions from driving (either a road trip or your yearly mileage) or a flight. It’s pretty easy to use, but the lengths of its flights are vague (i.e. “short haul” vs “long haul” flights).
• California-based Terra Pass has been in the news since it partnered with the online travel agency Expedia to offer carbon neutral flights. Terra Pass had a very easy-to-use website where you can buy a package that offsets your yearly road miles or a domestic flight. For example, it took me about 3 minutes to enter my recent flight to Salt Lake City and find out that I qualify for the “puddle jumper” offset package that costs $9.95.
• Climat Mundi is another UK site that's handy for calculating more accurately your flight or drive. For example, you choose from which city/country to which city/country you are traveling (including international flights), or how many miles you are driving or flying on a particular trip. I thought this site was really easy to use, but you do pay in Euros.

I hope at least one of these sites gets you on track to becoming carbon neutral, if you choose to do so. I’m exploring becoming carbon neutral myself and am learning a lot right along with you, dear readers, so comments or suggestions on offsets and your experiences with them are quite welcome.

Coming up soon: Are carbon credits the silver bullet? How can Green Options help?

Illustration: Ilana Kohn

Carbon Neutral Company
David Suzuki Foundation
The Gold Standard
United Nations Development Programme