More on TerraPass and other voluntary offset programs
The other day, I wrote about TerraPass, a way to buy your way out of your car’s polluting ways, a sort of indulgence for the modern age. TerraPass is just one such sticker-based way to announce that, “yeah, I drive but I’m considerate”, as this New York Time article shows. The voluntary offset programs the article mentions – including Carbonfund, Native Energy.com and Self.org as well as TerraPass – all rely on people feeling guilty enough to pay something for their carbon producing sins, but not feeling enough guilt or desire for change or whatever to buy an electric car or bike or walk. As the article mentions, these programs don’t actually decrease the amount of pollution cars pump into the air. They invest in new technologies so that energy producers in other areas can use wind or solar energy. If you’re thinking about spending a little bit of money to green up your car, the article give you a good idea of what you’re getting into. The article online even has a video on the subject. [Source: New York Times, Image from the New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Severine 6:07PM (4/26/2006)
I drive a honda civic as little as possible, and end up emitting as much as an average hybrid driver because I compensate with biking and walking.
Still, I thought that since I have no idea where to go about investing in alternative energy, without thinking that it would necessarily offset my car emissions, I bought my terrapass because it's a way to have my $30 invested properly for me...
For what it's worth...
I believe I'm not the only one to have donated to Terrapass, even though I can see how this would be a way of feeling better about your hummer!
...sigh...
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doug 11:17AM (4/27/2006)
To me, a better way to offset the pollution generated by automobiles would be to remove, older, higher polluting autos from the road. Are there any organizations similar to TerraPass that have this objective?
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