THE rush to go on a carbon diet, even if by proxy, is in overdrive.
In addition to the celebrities — Leo, Brad, George — politicians like John
Edwards and Hillary Clinton are now running, at least part of the time,
carbon-neutral campaigns. A lengthening list of big businesses — international
banks, London’s taxi fleet, luxury airlines — also claim “carbon neutrality.”
Silverjet, a plush new trans-Atlantic carrier, bills itself as the first fully
carbon-neutral airline. It puts about $28 of each round-trip ticket into a fund
for global projects that, in theory, squelch as much carbon dioxide as the
airline generates — about 1.2 tons per passenger, the airline says.
Also, a largely unregulated carbon-cutting business has sprung up. In this
market, consultants or companies estimate a person’s or company’s output of
greenhouse gases. Then, these businesses sell “offsets,” which pay for projects
elsewhere that void or sop up an equal amount of emissions — say, by planting
trees or, as one new company proposes, fertilizing the ocean so algae can pull
the gas out of the air. Recent counts by Business Week magazine and several
environmental watchdog groups tally the trade in ...