Carbon offsets.

Are you one of the millions of people out there that doesn't understand what carbon offsets are or how they work or how you might go about incorporating them into your life?  You are not alone.  I don't profess to be an expert, but I can certainly share some information and resources with you to get you started.

I guess it is obvious to most that a carbon offset is something that offsets carbon emissions.  I believe, and please correct me if I am wrong, that on a macroeconomic scale these are known as carbon credits. It is not immediately apparent to me whether there is really any difference between the carbon offsets and carbon credits, as they are each issued at the industry level.  The ability of countries to trade carbon allowances falls under the "cap and trade" scheme under the Kyoto Protocol. 

You may be asking yourself why an individual would care about something like his or own personal carbon emissions, when countries are themselves are presumably addressing the issue.  Well, the Kyoto Protocol is not perfect, and certain countries, such as the US, did not even sign on to it.  Apparently the US's carbon emissions have risen approximately 18% between 1990 and 2005.  Other countries, such as Canada, have signed on to the Protocol, but have done a terrible job of reducing their emissions in accordance with targets (Canada's target was a 6% reduction but instead we have had an increase of 24% between the base year and 2007).  It is pretty sad when we're being beaten by a country that isn't even a signatory to the Protocol.